


the Parent Trap

by Browneyesparker



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Daughters, Disney, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Other Characters - Freeform, Plots, Remix, Romance, Smarckle, Summer Camp, Zaynessa, girls, joshaya, rucas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 15:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 23,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7940566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After meeting at camp, Texan Victoria and New-York raised Amelia engineer an identity swap, giving both the chance to spend time with the parent they've missed. If the scheme works, it might just make the family whole again. Rucas. Joshaya. Romance. Inspired by the original Disney film/remake. Rated teen an up. Original Characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the Elopement

**.**

**Chapter 1 the Elopement**

“Are you sure you want to do this, honey?” Maya asked as she fixed Riley’s veil they’d purchased in one of the ship’s gift shops for the occasion.

“We were going to get married eventually,” Riley answered as she fidgeted with a stray curl. “Except Lucas is going right into grad school now that we’ve graduated and there won’t be any time to set a date after this.”

“But you’ve always dreamed of a big church wedding,” Maya reminded her. “I can’t believe you’re giving it all up.”

“For Lucas,” Riley replied. “I’m giving it all up for _Lucas_. I love him and if you really love somebody then it won’t matter where or how you marry them. If Josh were to propose, would it matter how the two of y0u got married if it meant you got to spend the rest of your life with him?”

“Of course not!” Maya said. “But I haven’t been keeping a scrapbook filled with clippings from _Modern Bride_ since I was 12, either.”

“I’ve been doing it for you too!” Riley told her cheerfully.

Maya rolled her eyes. “Of course you have!”

The door opened and Smackle poked her head through, grinning at the maid of honor and the bride. “The groom and ship’s captain are ready for you, Riley.”

Riley turned to look at Maya. “How do I look Peaches?”

“Beautiful!” Maya assured her as she linked arms with her. “Come on, let’s go and get you hitched to Huckleberry.”

Zay, Farkle and Lucas were all waiting at the end of the aisle for the girls as they proceeded down the aisle, one after another.

Lucas smiled at Riley and took her hand, ready to spend the rest of his life with her.

**.**

When the ceremony was over, they all went to have dinner in the dining room. The captain let them all sit at the table with him because it wasn’t every day there was a wedding on the ship and he and his wife had been married young too.

He thought it might give them good luck in their marriage to sit with a couple who’d had 40 wedding anniversaries.

They danced the night away and had souvenir pictures taken by the ship’s photographer while their friends watched, giving them their privacy even though they wanted to be involved _so_ badly. But they had only needed them as witnesses. They wanted to spend the rest of the night together. By themselves.

**.**

“Maya, do you think my dad and mom will upset they’re not here to see me get married?” Riley asked anxiously before going into the boy’s room later that evening to be with Lucas.

“You don’t have to tell them,” Maya answered. “You can always have another wedding in a few years and tell them after the reception you got married on our graduation cruise. Everything will be okay, don’t worry about it! They’ll never know!”

**.**

_Three Weeks Later_

“Why am I so sick!?” Riley groaned as she threw up again.

“Maybe it was the new restaurant you and Maya ate at last night,” Lucas suggested as he brushed his teeth.

“Lucas, if I had food poisoning, I would have gotten it last night!” Riley told him, resting her head against the toilet and closing her eyes. “You literally get it right away!”

Lucas shrugged and . “I’m calling Josh to see how Maya is. If she’s sick too, he’ll know about it.”

“Yeah well, if Maya were sick, she would have called me!” Riley insisted. “We tell each other everything.”

“I have him on the phone right now!” Lucas announced. “The phone is ringing. Hey Josh, this is Lucas! Your favorite nephew! Yeah, Riley’s puking her guts out right now and we were wondering how Maya’s doing. I see. Oh, she’s doing just fine? You’re with her having breakfast right now? Alrightie! I’ll talk to you later. ‘Bye!”

Riley glared at him. “You told Josh we were married?”

“Maya told him. They’re not even married yet and she still tells him everything. Don’t worry, he promised not to tell. But he thinks you need to go to the OB-GYN. He says you could be pregnant.”

“Ha! That’s crazy because I’m due for my period. . .” Riley trailed off and gulped as she did the math in her head. “Lucas, I’m late. . .”

**.**

_“Pregnant!”_ Cory screeched.

“How can you be pregnant!?” Topanga asked. “Riley, we always told you to wait until you were married to have sex!”

“We were on the ship and it was so romantic. . .” Riley started to explain. “And I didn’t think you could actually get pregnant the first time, you know? I thought it was just Lifetime’s way of scaring you into practicing abstinence.”

“You got pregnant on the trip Farkle’s parents paid for!? Riley, you were supposed to be the responsible one.”

“They got married on ship!” Josh interjected, defending his niece’s honor.

“You got married without us!?” Cory shouted.

“You _knew_ about it!?” Topanga asked, glaring at Josh.

“Maya and I don’t have any secrets,” Josh answered. “But it wasn’t like it was my place to tell you guys about it. Riley is 22-years-old, she’s not a little girl anymore. If I came and told you guys, it would be as good as tattling.”

“Riley, _why_!?” Topanga asked. “Why would you get married without us?”

“Because! Because Lucas is going to veterinarian school in _Texas_!” Riley replied. “And we didn’t want to wait forever to get married. We both knew we were going to do it eventually. We were planning on getting _re_ married when he graduated, having the whole big wedding thing with our friends and family. I never counted on getting pregnant though!”

“Well, when you’re married, there’s always a chance of having a kid if you’re not practicing safe sex!” Topanga told them.

“We did. . .” Lucas said. “We’re not stupid.”

Topanga sighed. “Well, I guess we have to accept this. But you have to promise us that on your five year wedding anniversary, you’ll have a big wedding with all your friends and family!”

“We promise!” Lucas and Riley said together.

**TBC. . .**

**.**


	2. the Custody Battle

**.**

**Chapter 2 the Custody Battle**

“It’s not like we’re asking the four of you to choose sides,” Riley explained to Maya. “We flipped a coin and decided for you guys. Heads was you and Zay, tails was Farkle and Smackle. It was as simple as that.”

“Let me get this straight. Zay, Farkle, Smackle and I are all a part of your _custody battle_!?” Maya asked incredulously.

Riley shook her head. “Battle is such an ugly word, Maya. It’s a custody _agreement_ , we’re dividing our assets.”

 _“Assets?”_ Maya repeated. “So now we’re the equivalent of Lucas’s Harry Potter books and your Nicholas Sparks DVD collection? Things you collected during your relationship!? Is that it, Riles?”

Riley sighed. “I told you. We didn’t want you to have to choose sides.”

“So, you chose the sides for us?”

“We flipped a coin,” Riley answered. “Come on Maya, it isn’t like you were choosing me to begin with. You said getting divorced was stupid and that you weren’t going to support my decision to leave Lucas.”

“Because he asked you to move to _Texas_ with him. Even you have to admit that’s a silly reason to divorce somebody!” Maya said.

“He can be a vet anywhere,” Riley replied primly. “He had plenty of offers _here_ in the City but he refused them all. He expected me to give up _my_ job offer to go with him and be his little housewife.”

“Riley, he did _not_! He told you there were plenty of opportunities to manage social media accounts in Texas.”

“But none of those opportunities were working for the Knicks, were they?” Riley said. “Besides, I didn’t _want_ to move to Texas!”

“And you think _I_ do!? Don’t try and tell me that I don’t have to go. I read the paperwork! Moving to Texas and being a friend to Lucas is in the _damn_ custody agreement!” Maya informed her, putting air quotations around ‘agreement’. “According to your lawyer, you got _custody_ of Josh too!”

“He’s my uncle. . . there was no question _who_ got him. . .”

“Well, he’s my _boyfriend_! And now I can’t even talk to him until the divorce is finalized because I’m on Lucas’s side! I might persuade him to join the enemy with my charms. I talked to your mother to see if I could get out of it but apparently it’s legally binding,” Maya said. “Separating the twins is one thing. They’re your children, I may be their godmother but I have no say in what happens to them. But when it comes to pitting us against each other. . . without our consent.  . .

 

“What’s done is done.”

Maya sighed. “For the record, I would have chosen you. Okay? Even though I don’t think your reasons for getting divorced are all that great. I always choose you no matter what. How could you forget?”

Riley wanted to say something hateful, to suggest the only reason she would have chosen her over Lucas was because of Josh. But she knew it wasn’t true, not even a little bit.

Maya would have chosen her even if Josh had been married with a baby on the way and totally off-limits to her. And without giving her a choice in the matter, Riley had unwittingly thrown her best friend back into the arms of unhappiness.

“I’m sorry. . .”

Maya shrugged sadly. “You said so yourself, what’s done is done.”

**.**

“You want me to move to Texas with you?” Zay asked, frowning. “I mean you’re really doing this? Taking one of the twins and leaving town? If anybody was going to last, it was going to be you and Riley.”

Lucas sighed and stroked his bare ring finger. “She won’t have the same opportunities in Texas that she’ll have here.”

“So why go back to Texas? Why not stay here with Riley? We both know you got tons of job offers here,” Zay said.

“But I can’t make a difference at most of them,” Lucas answered. “Most of the clinics that gave me job offers put down the animals if they can’t find homes for them. And the other ones care about quantity, not quality. Zay, you know I’ve always wanted to make a difference. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“I still can’t believe Maya and I have to go with you all the way to Texas.”

“It’s only temporary,” Lucas said. “Until I put down roots and get settled in. I’m not going to live where we did when we were kids, you know.”

Zay sighed. “You know Josh and Maya can’t be in a relationship anymore because of this so called custody agreement? Riley got Josh and her lawyer doesn’t think it would be a good idea for them to talk. You know, in case Maya tries to persuade Josh to see things your way?”

“Why do you care so much about Josh and Maya?” Lucas asked, feeling a little impatient with his childhood best friend.

“Do you know how long they waited for _someday_?” Zay asked. “I do because it’s all Maya would talk about when we doubled with you guys. And if she wasn’t talking about it, I got constant texts from _Josh_ reminding me that they were playing the long game. You want to ruin this for them? They might never recover from it. That’ll be on you and Riley.”

 

“They have control over whether they talk or not,” Lucas answered.

“Maya already talked to Mrs. Matthews. It’s pretty iron tight. She can’t have anything to do with Josh. They didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to each other,” Zay told him. “How do you feel about _that_ , Lucas?”

“What am I supposed to do? Lucas asked. “Riley wants to get a divorce and I always give Riley what she wants.”

“This time it’s at the sake of all of us. Listen, I don’t mind moving back to Texas. It’s my home, I love it there. But I think Maya is going to have a hard time adjusting.”

“It won’t last forever!” Lucas said. “She is more than welcome to come back to New York whenever she wants.”

“Okay, okay. Just make sure she knows that,” Zay said. He smirked. “I can’t believe you actually flipped for the four of us.”

Lucas sighed. “Can we talk about anything else besides my divorce?”

“I just think it’s funny is all.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s that funny. Riley and I were both raised on until death do us part and we’re getting divorced. And we’re putting the four of you in the middle of it.” Lucas released a deep breath. “And Josh and Maya. At least Farkle and Smackle get to stay together.”

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Farkle assured him. “Just _don’t_ go old Lucas on me. I don’t think older Maya could handle it and you’ve got Victoria to worry about now, she needs a solid daddy. Not a hot fuse that’s ready to explode.”

“I know! Thank you Zay!” Lucas said.

“Hey, you might not have gotten the girl or the fairy tale but we’re going to have another adventure,” Zay promised, clapping his friend on the back. “This one might be even better than the ones we’ve shared these last few years.”

Lucas knew Zay believed it just as much as he did, which was not very much at all. But it was nice to have the support especially since he knew they’d drag Maya kicking and screaming to Texas.

And that his life wouldn’t be the same kind of wonderful it was with when Riley was in it.

But Lucas knew he, Zay, Maya and Victoria would endure.

They would have no choice.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usually, in the Parent Trap, we do not see the divorce proceedings. I know this. But I did say my version was only based on both movies. And I needed to set up things coming up in the rest of the chapters. I hope you will tell me what you thought!
> 
> I am going to assume some upcoming questions and answer them. The only drama is between Riley and Lucas. Given the way Josh and Maya have been separated, they will not have any other love interests. I’m not sure getting custody of your friends is even a thing but for the sake of the story, I hope you’ll suspend disbelief. Trust me when I say Maya doesn’t give up Riley that easily after the divorce is finalized. I am a great lover of the Rilaya friendship, I would never wreck it! 
> 
> Until Next Time!


	3. The Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody asked me if there were two Parent Trap movies. There are (technically there are 4 because there were 3 made for TV sequels to the 1961 version). Hailey Mills was in the first one, she was the Disney Darling back in the day. I recommend all her Disney movies really but start out with the Parent Trap if you haven’t seen it.

**.**

**Chapter 3 the Twins**

Amelia Zoe Matthews wasn’t used to venturing out on her own. She lived a sheltered life in New York City with her mom and the rest of her family. Sometimes, she’d go to Disney World or to away games with the Knicks but she was always with her mother.

So, she was surprised when her mother gave her permission to go to summer camp in a different state without her for a whole entire eight weeks. Yes, her Uncle Farkle and Aunt Isadora were dropping her off even though the camp was only in New Hampshire and she could have easily taken a bus. But she wasn’t going to argue with her mother over a thing like taking the bus versus her surrogate relatives dropping her off.

“Excited?” Farkle asked, glancing at Amelia through his rearview mirror.

Amelia nodded, tucking her long dark hair behind her ears before closing the book about music theory she was reading. She had an audition with the New York Youth Symphony when she got home from camp and she needed to be prepared. It was one of her mother’s conditions in allowing her to be alone for such a long period of time.

“She’s only looking out for you,” Smackle said, like she could read Amelia’s thoughts. “You’re all she has in this world, you know.”

Amelia could not resist the urge to correct the genius. “No. She has you and Uncle Farkle. And Uncle Josh and Uncle Auggie and Aunt Ava. And Grandma and Grandpa. And a whole team of basketball players who adore her.”

“You’re all she has left of your father,” Smackle answered, not elaborating.

They never elaborated. The only thing Amelia was certain of was that she even had a father and that she wasn’t made in a test tube. And that her parents had been married once when they were too young to know any better. The only other thing she had of him was a half of a picture of him, taken on the day he had married her mom.

Farkle pulled into the road that led into Camp Lohan-Mills, complaining about what the gravel would do to his tires. Causing Smackle to roll her eyes and remind him that she _had_ told him to take the Land Rover but he hadn’t listened to her like always.

Their arguments were more funny than bothersome though. If Amelia was sure of anybody’s relationship it was her Aunt Isadora’s and Uncle Farkle’s. Almost everything with them was all in good fun or for the sake of teasing.

**.**

“Do you have your sheet music?” Smackle asked after they’d checked her into camp.

“Check,” Amelia said.

“Allergy medicine, violin, the list of fruits and vegetables you _must_ eat every day?” Farkle added, leaning over Smackle’s shoulder to get a look at the list.

“Check, check and check!” Amelia replied.

Farkle raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you being sarcastic?”

Amelia smiled at him. “Check for all of it, Uncle Farkle. You know I’d never be sarcastic. Not with you of all people!”

“Sweatshirts, extra changes of underwear, toothbrush, vitamins, bug repellent, sunblock, cell phone charger?” Isadora listed off at a rapid fire pace.

“Check,” Amelia confirmed. “I also have all the pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelopes and my vitamins. Stop worrying! I’m going to be okay!”

“This is the first time you’ve been out of New York all by yourself,” Smackle reminded her. “Excuse us for worrying!”

“I’ll miss you too Auntie Is,” Amelia said, giving her a quick hug. “And you too Uncle Farkle!”

Farkle smiled at her and hugged her before pulling something out of his sport’s jacket. “Here you go a brand-new deck of Bicycles. Just in case there’s somebody who can beat your butt at poker at camp.”

Amelia smirked. “I’m sure they’ll _try_ but I don’t think they’ll succeed!”  

“Be a good girl!” Smackle admonished, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Try and make some new friends,” Farkle added. “Practice your violin like you promised your mother and take care of yourself.”

“I will, I will!” Amelia promised. “Go on now. You don’t want to hit traffic going home.”

“You’re right,” Smackle agreed, squeezing her shoulder before slipping her hand through Farkle’s “Come on honey, you know how much you _hate_ traffic. Besides, Amelia’s a big girl. She doesn’t need us to stick around and embarrass her.”

Farkle hugged her one more time and then they were both gone.

.

Victoria Lemon Friar pushed her sunglasses up on the top of her head and studied the pile of luggage on top of her suitcase. She’d tried _everything_ and hadn’t been able to remove it. She sighed with frustration and crossed her arms while she tried to figure out what to do.

“Having trouble getting out your bag?”

She turned around and saw a petite red-head with freckles standing beside her, a Vera Wang duffle bag at her feet.

“Just a little,” she answered.

“I’ll get it for you!”

“Sure. It’s the bright yellow suitcase,” Victoria said skeptically watching the other girl effortlessly tug the bag out of the pile effortlessly.

“I’m stronger than I look,” she answered modestly, smiling at her. “The name’s Susan. What’s your name?”

Victoria propped her suitcase up and pulled the handle up, rocking it back and forth. “Victoria. But everybody calls me _Vic_.”

“Nice to meet you Vic,” Susan answered. “I haven’t seen you before. Is this your first time coming to Camp Lohan-Mills?”

“Yup!” Victoria replied enthusiastically as they started to walk towards the counselors to find out what cabin they would be in . “How about you?”

“I’ve been coming for a few summers,” Susan said. “I love it. You will too. I like you already, Vic. I bet we’re cabin mates!”

Victoria collided with another girl before she could answer.

“Oh! Excuse me!”

“Excuse _me_. . .” Victoria trailed off, her eyes widening.

The other girl gasped, grasping her violin case tightly. She was as white as a sheet, almost like she had had another world encounter. “I really am sorry! I didn’t see you there. I was distracted!”

“Make sure it doesn’t happen again!” Victoria said almost cruelly, even though she had been the one responsible for their run-in. After all, she _had_ been the one walking and not paying attention to where she was going.

“I-I won’t!” she promised.

“Is that girl your sister?” Susan asked as they veered off towards the left.

Victoria shook her head. “I’ve never seen her before in my life,” she replied.

**.**

Amelia watched as the girls walked away from her, trying to slow down the rapid beating of her heart. Her whole body was covered in goosebumps, if she didn’t know any better, she would have said the girl who had ran into her was her _twin_.

But she was an only child.

There was _no_ possible way she could have a twin sister.

But there was this gnawing sixth sense that she sometimes had that said she _could_ have one because anything was possible.

Amelia wondered if the other girl was having the same kind of experience or if maybe she was just a little crazy from spending too much time and desperately wishing for a whole family she would never have.

**.**

“Her name is Amelia Matthews,” Susan said. “Her mom is the Knicks publicist. She sends out their tweets and schedules their photo shoots, stuff like that.”

“The _Knicks_!?” Victoria repeated. “Darn, I love the Knicks! Like major time love the Knicks. . .  ugh, why does her mom have to be the Knicks publicist!?”

Susan shrugged. “Some people have all the luck.”

“The nerve of her, coming here with your face!” Victoria’s other cabin mate, Natasha said as she took extra chocolate chip cookies and left the vegetables behind at dinner

“I don’t see any resemblance whatsoever,” Victoria lied even though the truth was she had been shaken up all afternoon by her run-in with her doppelgänger. She knew everyone had one but she’d never heard of anyone running into them, literally or figuratively.

“Oh come on Vic!” Susan said as they sat down at a free table. “You mean you can’t see it?”

 _“Nope!”_ Victoria lied again, deciding not to share the weird sixth sense thing that had been happening, she got it a lot and today it was full-fledged, causing her to feel vaguely uncomfortable.

She was certain that the other girls wouldn’t get it though. Other eleven-year-olds _never_ understood how she could sense things others couldn’t.

Victoria felt an irrational stab of dislike for the other girl. She needed to plan a take down. If she was good at anything, it was sabotage.

 

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think writing Vic is going to be the hardest for me. I am in no ways a mean girl or good at sabotage. I hope you will bear with me for a while. . . just while I figure out how to do this. Write somebody like Vic that is. A little tom boyish and a lot strong-willed. 
> 
> I’ll be back with more soon. I do not want to drag the camp thing out too, too long because there is so much story to get to and I am very eager to get to it. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! I am so looking forward to your feedback.
> 
> Five points to anybody who gets my abundance of Easter eggs in this chapter!  
> Until Next Time!


	4. the Family Feud

**.**

**Chapter 4 the Family Feud**

Amelia raised her violin to her chin and played a few notes to see if it was tuned before launching into “Cheap Thrills” to warm up with before seamlessly sliding into a piece by Mozart. It wasn’t the one she was supposed to be learning for her audition but it was one of her favorites to play.

She was interrupted by a slow clap. She lowered her violin and frowned when she saw her evil “twin” standing in the doorway, watching her with a smirk.

“What do you want?”

“Oh don’t stop on my account,” Victoria answered. “I was passing by and I wanted to see what all the _noise_ was.”

 _“Noise!?_ Amelia repeated, stamping her foot. “I will have you know that I am practicing for my audition.”

Victoria feigned interest. “Audition? Really? Are you going to play for the school of the blind and deaf?”

“You’re not very nice,” Amelia informed her. “Now if you’d _please_ leave me alone, I’m serious. I have a very important audition to prepare for.”

She started to play again, getting frustrated when she realized Victoria was still watching her.

“You’re touchy,” Victoria said.

“Then why do you find pleasure in annoying me?”

“Um, because you’re so easy to annoy! You really need to lighten up because you’re _boring_!”

Amelia looked at her and sighed with exasperation. “Am _not_!”

“Honey, you’re practicing the violin at summer camp. There’s gotta be something better you could do,” Victoria said.

“ _Honey_ , you’re harassing _me_ at summer camp! There’s gotta be something better _you_ could do! Like, oh I don’t know, provoke a bear with a stick!” Amelia suggested. “Because I know you’re not here to make friends. Not with me.”

Victoria nods. “You would be right.”

Amelia gritted her teeth. “Will you please leave _now_?”

“If I don’t?” There was a silent challenge in her question but she was looking at Amelia like she knew she was so harmless, she wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Amelia put her violin away and snapped the case shut. “I’m just going to have to tell the counselors that you’re bothering me. I’m sure you’d hate for them to get involved.”  


“Only baby’s _tattle_ ,” Victoria said. “Are you a baby?”

“I guess you’ll have to see for yourself,” Amelia answered, walking away.

**.**

Victoria was seething.

She had to help wash dishes after dinner for a _week_. The punishment seemed a little excessive for keeping Amelia from practicing her violin.

Who cared if Amelia was going to be a part of some hoity-toity youth orchestra in New York City? It wasn’t like Victoria didn’t have the same kind of opportunities. She was an accomplished piano player herself but she wasn’t going around rubbing it in people’s faces.

In that moment, Victoria quite literally hated Amelia Matthews.

There was talk of a poker game when she got back to her cabin. Amelia was hosting it for nail polish and cash and candy bars.

Victoria smiled and peeled off her sticky t-shirt. She was a _fantastic_ poker player. It was time to start taking Amelia down a couple of notches. She grabbed all the money she had brought and stuffed it into the pocket of her shorts.

“Come on Nat, Suse. We’re going to play some poker!” she announced.

Susan sighed and lowered her copy of Tiger Beat. “Why don’t you just trash her cabin and be done with it, Vic? We all know you want to.”

“No. We have to surprise her.”

“Hon, I’m pretty sure it would be a surprise,” Natasha said.

“I want to really shake her up. For starters, I’m going to beat her at poker. Revenge is a slow process, girls. Everybody knows that.”

Susan rolled her eyes and shut her magazine. “I guess you want us to go with you, be your squad. All that good stuff.”

Victoria beamed and pulled her highlighted hair into a high ponytail. “That would be _amazing_!” she answered.

**.**

Amelia groaned inwardly when she saw “Vic” and her friends, Natasha and Susan coming towards her cabin, arm-in-arm in bright pink lip gloss and glittery halter-tops.

“Want to call it a night?” Her cabin mate, Maureen asked. “If you do, you don’t have to deal with Vic.”

Amelia shook her head. “No. I can’t let her know I don’t like her. Any sign of weakness will be my undoing! I’ve got to have the upper hand.”

“The upper hand?” Maureen repeated. “Boo, you don’t have the upper hand! All you’ve done is told the counselors she’s been bothering you. It’s safe to say she has everything on you.”

Amelia tucked her hair behind her ears. “Well, then, I’ve got to beat her at poker.”

**.**

Amelia watched in amazement as Victoria beat her round after round, she’d never had anybody beat her at poker before.

“I win again!” Victoria crowed. “Pay up sweetie pie.”

Amelia had quickly lost everything she had wagered, resulting in Victoria wheedling her into wagering a venture into the lake, completely naked.

Amelia had been so sure she would win, she had agreed. Victoria smirked at her over her royal flush.

“What? Are you a chicken, Amelia?” Victoria asked her voice full of malice.

“No. Of course not!” Amelia answered, standing up and squaring her shoulders. “I’ll do it! I’m not one to welch on a bet.”

“You don’t have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable!” Maureen informed Amelia, jumping to her feet.

“You heard her! She _never_ welches on a bet!” Victoria interjected gleefully. “Come on girls! Let’s make sure she keeps her word!”

They all followed her down to the dock and Amelia nervously pulled her camp t-shirt over her head, looking back to make sure they weren’t watching her too closely. She unbuttoned her shorts and wiggled out of them, wondering if she could get away jumping into the water with her bra and panties on.

“You have to be _buck_ naked!” Victoria shouted like she had read her thoughts.

Amelia closed her eyes and unhooked her polka-dot bra before shimming out of her matching underwear. She kicked them aside, plugged her nose and made the plunge. When she surfaced, everybody was gone. Her clothes included.

She climbed up onto the dock and stood shivering in the New Hampshire breeze.

She was done playing nice and turning the other cheek or going to an authority figure like her mother had taught her. It didn’t help at all, Victoria was still a bully.

It was time to orchestrate some good-old fashioned revenge. Give the other girl a taste of her own medicine and see how she liked it.

Victoria Friar _so_ had it coming to her!

**.**

Victoria screamed when she shut the blow drier off and saw the blonde streaks in her brunette hair. They hadn’t been there when she had gone into the shower, she had no idea how they had gotten there either.

“Not so nice when it happens to you, is it?”

Victoria whirled around and saw Amelia looking at her with a smirk on her face.

“What did you do!?” Victoria shrieked.

Amelia waved a bottle of peroxide around. “I just added a little bit of this to your shampoo. Fair is fair. Do you really think you could _torture_ me and get away with it?”

Victoria glared at her, her reply filled with venom. “Oh, you haven’t seen the worst of it _sweetie pie_!”

Amelia shrugged. “Okay. Do your worst then!”

“You’re going to wish you didn’t say that!” Victoria yelled as Amelia walked away, slamming the bathroom screen door behind her.

**.**

“The more I think about it, the more I don’t think wrecking their cabin is going to be a good idea,” Natasha said as they ran through the woods to Amelia’s cabin with supplies in their hands that they’d taken from the kitchen. “What if we get kicked out? This summer was my last chance. I’m off to boarding school in _England_ if I don’t behave myself.”

“Don’t be such a mouth breather!” Victoria snapped. “We’re not going to get caught!”

“Chances are, Amelia’s going to know it was us,” Susan said. “You were the only one who threatened to get revenge on her for the peroxide thing.”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Fine. If you want to, you can both turn back now.”

Natasha and Susan exchanged looks. They both knew it would probably affect their friendship with Victoria and they definitely didn’t want to be her bad side. They’d spent the better part of two weeks seeing exactly what her bad side looked like.

It wasn’t pleasant at all.

They wrecked the cabin, getting into the spirit of things as they dumped honey around pillows and covered one girl in Gillette shaving cream and hid water balloons around the room. Finishing off with a bucket of chocolate fudge.

They completed the job in the wee small hours of the morning, congratulating themselves on a job well done while they settled in to see the other campers’ reactions to their prank.

It was perfect, of course. They went absolutely _nuts_ at the huge mess in their cabin, rushing around to clean it up before one of the counselors came in and discovered the disorganization.

Victoria was almost in hysterics when Lindsey Mills, one of the camp owners started up the dirt path with her business partner, Hayley Lohan at her heels.

“Surprise inspection!” Hayley sang, glancing at Susan, Victoria and Natasha. “Oh. Good morning ladies. What are you doing here?”

“Um. . .” Susan trailed off.

“You _don’t_ want to go in there!” Victoria interjected, stepping in front of the screen door to block them from getting inside. “One of the girls has food poisoning and there’s a huge mess. Yuck.”

“If one of the girls is sick it’s our responsibility to make sure she’s okay and gets the best care possible,” Lindsey told them. “Please move, Miss Friar.”

“I’m serious!” Victoria said. “It’s highly contagious!”

“Victoria!” Hayley said her tone warning. “If you don’t let us go in there right now, I’m afraid you’re going to be on KP for the rest of your stay with us.”

Victoria shook her head, she couldn’t risk either of the counselors getting covered in fudge sauce or her punishment was going to be a lot worse than dirty pots and pans.

“We’re all fine in here!” Amelia said, poking her head out the window, her dark hair was sticking to her head from getting doused with a water balloon. She smiled sweetly. “Unless there’s something Vic knows that we don’t.”

“Victoria, _please_ let us go inside!” Lindsey said, giving her a little push.

“NO!” Victoria cried as Hayley opened the door, causing the string they had rigged to trigger as it opened.

The chocolate sauce came pouring down, like a brown waterfall, covering Lindsey, Hayley, Victoria and Amelia to be spattered in sticky liquid.

Hayley and Lindsey shrieked at the same time, wiping it away from their eyes and mouth and fixing Victoria with a glare.

“That’s it!” Lindsey said. “I’ve had about enough of you two! I want you both to clean this mess up and meet us in our office as soon as you’re done. You both are in for it, _big time_!”

“Yes ma’am,” Amelia murmured, having enough sense to duck her head in shame.

Victoria pressed her lips into a thin line and crossed her arms utterly defiant. “Fine. But I won’t like it.”

“I don’t care!” Lindsey retorted. “The rest of you, get cleaned up and go have breakfast. That includes you two, Susan and Natasha. I can’t imagine what your part to play in this mess was but trust me when I say, you will be punished accordingly!”

Natasha and Susan nodded, scrambling to their cabin to get changed out of their clothes from the day before. Maureen and Chessy both grabbed their toiletries and changes of wardrobe before leaving to go to the bathrooms to shower.

Victoria stomped into the cabin and Amelia followed her, pretending to be the picture of meekness as she did.

Both of them wondered if they’d be sent home after they were finished but neither of them said it aloud.

They would never give the other the satisfaction of knowing they’d given any cause for concern.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me f o r e v e r to write. I have had so much trouble getting into two teenagers heads. It’s been awhile since I’ve been one and even when I was a teenager, I was busy concocting theories about Ginny giving Harry a love potion on a Harry & Hermione website and writing Jack Sparrow and AnaMarie fan fiction to actually think about actual teenager things. I was kind of a geek. I still am but it was ten times worse 10-12 years ago.
> 
> Anyways. I hope my efforts in writing this turned out okay and I actually wrote a passable chapter. I would hate it if it didn’t hold up to my normal standards of writing or even my own personal standards for myself. The next chapter will have Vic & Amelia actually becoming friends and discovering they’re sisters. And the explanation to their middle names.
> 
> I hope you’ll stick around for it. 
> 
> Until Next Time!


	5. the Punishment & the Revelation

**.**

**Chapter 5 the Punishment & the Revelation**

“I can’t believe it,” Lindsey said, looking between Victoria and Amelia. “Two sisters _fighting_ the way you both do! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”

“Hey! We are _not_ sisters!” Victoria protested.

“I’ve never seen her before in my life!” Amelia added, equally as indignant.

Lindsey glanced at Hayley. “This isn’t another one of their pranks, is it? They _are_ sisters, aren’t they?”

Hayley shook her head. “Nope. They’re not sisters just look a likes.”

“Well, _regardless_!” Lindsey said. “It goes against our camp’s code of conduct. Acting the way the two of you do! You should be _embarrassed_!”

“I am embarrassed, ma’am,” Amelia said, bowing her head.

Victoria sighed and rolled her eyes. “You don’t understand!”

“Clearly, I don’t!” Lindsey agreed, brushing her red hair away from her eyes. “The only thing I can imagine Amelia’s done to you since you’ve met is come here with your face.”

“She put peroxide in my shampoo!”

“Only after she stole my clothes when we. . .” Amelia trailed off, her skinny dipping adventure was definitely one thing she didn’t want to share with anyone, not even her own mother.

Lindsey held her hand up. “There’s an old saying. Let the punishment fit the crime. _Let the punishment fit the crime._ I assume you know what that means.”

Amelia sighed. “I’ll go pack my bags. When’s Uncle Farkle going to be here to get me?”

Hayley laughed. “Oh, we’re not sending you home! That would be too easy!”

Amelia frowned. “You’re not sending us home?”

“No _pe_ ,” Lindsey answered, smirking at them.

Panic rose in Victoria’s chest. “Then what are you going to do!?”

“You’ll see,” Lindsey said. “Now go back to your cabins and pack your bags. You’ve got twenty minutes.”

**.**

They walked for what seemed like _forever_ before finally stopping at a cabin just at the edge of the pristine lake.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Victoria said, barely stopping a swear word from making it past her lips.

 

“Oh, we’re _very_ serious!” Hayley assured her. “For the remainder of your stay here, you two will be doing _everything_ together!”

 _“Everything!?”_ Amelia repeated frowning.

“Eating, hiking, getting ready for bed,” Lindsey ticked off. “Any other camp activities you can think of, you’ll be doing together. I know Amelia is preparing for a very important audition. I expect you to be respectful of that, Victoria.

“ _Helpful_ even!” Hayley added, giving Victoria a pointed look.

“In time, I’m sure you two will become very fond of each other,” Lindsey continued. “Now go and make yourselves at home. We’ll check in with you both later.”

Victoria stormed up the path to the cabin, while Amelia followed at a much slower pace, not very anxious to settle into her new living situation.

**.**

Victoria was humming old Disney songs as she tacked pictures of boy bands from the 2010s on her side of the cabin. Amelia observed her as she tuned her violin. They’d shared a living space for a week and they still hadn’t spoken one word to each other. They hadn’t even said _goodnight_ before going to sleep.

There’d been a lot of dirty looks and comments muttered under the breath. Most of them came from Victoria. Amelia had given up on trying to be nice. Her efforts were so wasted on the other girl.

There was a clap of thunder in the distance, a signal a storm was moving in and then a huge gust of wind. It blew Victoria’s photographs right off the window framing, causing the other girl to curse in dismay.

Amelia put her violin down and went over to help Victoria close the ajar window and then pick up the pictures. She studied one of a tattooed boy with long hair.

“Is this your boyfriend?” She asked, holding it out to Victoria

Victoria actually laughed. “No! Don’t you know who Harry Styles is?”

“I can’t say that I do,” Amelia answered.

“He’s the best singer to come out of One Direction!” Victoria replied.

 _“One Direction?”_ Amelia repeated.

Victoria looked at her, her mouth agape. “You mean you _don’t_ know who One Direction is?”

“No. . .”

“What are you from? Mars or something?”

“I live in New York,” Amelia informed her, annoyed that Victoria was still making digs at her,

“You don’t exactly live under a rock,” Victoria said. “How is it that you don’t know about one of the greatest bands ever? They’re _classic_!”

Amelia shrugged. “I listen to a lot of classical music. Mom prefers that I don’t fill my head with silly notions of love and fairy tales. I guess it’s because she had a bad experience with it when she was younger.”

“My dad had a bad experience with love when he was in his 20s. But it only made him believe in love more even though it didn’t work out.”

“Your parents are divorced too?” Amelia asked, happy for the change of subject. This was something she could relate to, not Harry Styles and love songs.

“They have been ever since I was born,” Victoria replied.

“Mine too!” Amelia said. “Except you probably know your mother. I don’t know my father, he moved far away and we don’t talk about him.”

“No. I can’t say I know my mother,” Victoria said. “Dad doesn’t talk about her much. My Aunt Maya - she isn’t really my aunt - told me that they all met when they were kids and my parents fell in love at first sight. They were supposed to be the ones who worked out but they didn’t. She wouldn’t tell me why though. She said they parted ways for stupid reasons.”

“ _My_ parents met when they were kids and fell in love at first sight too! They got divorced because mom got some job with the Knicks and she didn’t want to go with my dad to. . .” Amelia trailed off. “Where did you say you were from?”

“Texas,” Victoria answered, frowning. “Why?”

“My father, he moved to Texas to be a veterinarian. . .”

“My father is a veterinarian!” Victoria told her, not realizing the implications of what was going on. “What a coincidence!”

“When’s your birthday, Victoria?”

“I’ll be 12 on November 12th,” Victoria replied. “When’s your birthday?”

“November 12th,” Amelia said slowly. “I am going to be 12 on November 12th.”

“Crazier and crazier!”

“Aren’t you paying attention?” Amelia wanted to know. “We both look very much alike. Your father is a vet in Texas just like mine is. You were born on November 12th, just like me. You don’t know your mother and I don’t know my father. And I’ll bet you anything you have a middle name from an old CW show. . .”

“It’s Lemon. Mom binge-watched Hart of Dixie when she was pregnant with me,” Victoria said. “How’d you know that?”

“Because Victoria, _my_ mother watched Hart of Dixie when she was pregnant with _me_!” Amelia shook her head. “Don’t you see? It all adds up. . .”

“What adds up?”

Amelia went over to her bed and pulled her diary out from under her pillow. She flipped it open and took out half a picture. “Is this what your father looks like?”

Victoria’s eyes widened. “That’s exactly what my father looks like! W-where did you get that picture?”

“I found it in my mother’s underwear drawer. She let me have it when she caught me looking at it. Victoria, my mom says I’m kind of psychic. Like I can sense things before they happen. . . and right now I-I’m sensing you may have the other half of this photograph.”

Victoria nodded and went to her suitcase, throwing clothes everywhere. “I think I do. . .”

The pieces of picture fit together perfectly.

“This must mean. . . Amelia, we’re _sisters_!”

Amelia laughed and cried at the same time. “Vic, we’re _twins_!”

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no strong feelings about One Direction except for having a teenage sister and while I wrote this, I realize when I’m older they will be to the younger set what the Backstreet Boys are to me now. . . 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. . . I am working on chapter 6 right now. I was sick way longer than I expected and it threw me completely. This is later than usual because yesterday was crazy with a capital “C”!   
> I’ll update like normal next week!
> 
>  
> 
> Until Next Time!


	6. the Plan

**.**

**Chapter 6 the Plan**

“They must have had a huge argument and decided to get divorced,” Victoria said as she ate ice cream with fudge sauce. “Aunt Maya says they were the kind of couple that was supposed to last forever.”

“Aunt Maya?” Amelia asked.

“She was mom’s best friend,” Victoria said. “Now she’s my dad’s best friend and my full-time babysitter. Or so she likes to say.”

“Oh yes, Auntie Is told me about the infamous friend custody,” Amelia replied, unwrapping her popsicle. “Everything got so messed up. Divorce ruins _everything_.”

“Yeah,” Victoria agreed, releasing a deep breath. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a _great_ life so far. But I would have loved to have a mother. Aunt Maya and Aunt Vanessa _try_ but Aunt Vanessa has kids of her own and I know Aunt Maya feels like she’s just replacing my mother. I overheard her telling dad as much a few months ago.”

“I wish you could get to know mom,” Amelia said, sighing. “I wish I could get to know dad.”  

Victoria perked up. “Maybe you _can_!”

“How?” Amelia asked. “I don’t think our parents will be getting back together anytime soon.”

“We could _switch_ places,” Victoria answered. “You could go to Texas and meet dad and I could go to New York and get to know mom. At some point, they’ll have to get together to switch us back. Maybe if they see each other again, the old feelings will reignite. And then they’ll realize they still want to be together.”

Amelia looked apprehensive. “Don’t you think if it was going to happen, it would have happened already?”

Victoria shrugged. “I don’t know and we’ll _never_ know unless we try. Come on Ame, I’m _dying_ to meet mom!”

Amelia nodded. “Okay. I mean we don’t have anything to lose by switching places. Let’s do it!”

**.**

“You have to learn a few notes on the violin!” Amelia insisted. “My whole life has been built around playing this instrument!”

 

“Stop worrying about it,” Victoria said.

“My audition is a week after camp is over,” Amelia continued, clearly stressing out.

Victoria rolled her eyes and picked up Amelia’s violin, she drew the bow across the string and played a rendition of Etta James’s “At Last” much to her twin sister’s amazement.

“See, I know what I’m doing,” Victoria told her. “I’ve learned to play _thirteen_ instruments in the last ten years. I only stuck with piano because Dad made me do it. He was like ‘Vic, I am _not_ paying another hundred dollars a month for you to learn another _damn_ instrument. You either stick with piano or you’re not learning anything else ever again!’. So, I stuck with the piano. But I’m good at notes and stuff. You’re going to ace your audition, boo. Don’t worry about it! That’s something you need to know about me, by the way.

“I’m not uptight like at all. If you go to Texas being _you_ , everyone is definitely going to notice something is different!”

“Well, you can’t be _you_!” Amelia said. “You need to be a little more reserved. And we need to do something about your hair.”

“The peroxide streaks are _your_ fault,” Victoria reminded her, smirking. “Good job by the way. It had to be your best revenge against me.”

“Yeah but the family is still going to notice,” Amelia said.

“I’ll tell them I got involved in a prank war. No big deal,” Victoria answered.

“No you won’t! I don’t do _prank wars_!” Amelia informed her.

“I’ll tell them that I met some mean-spirited girls who didn’t like me then,” Victoria replied, plucking at a white blonde strand of hair. “Which is true. I didn’t like you. I really had this coming to me.”

Amelia sighed. “Mom’s going to kill me. . . err. . . _you_.”

“Hair can be fixed,” Victoria reminded her. “Okay, calm down. You need to tell me about the family!”

“Okay. There’s Uncle Josh, he’s our great-uncle but he’s surprisingly young for one. Mom’s grandparents had him when they were older. He’s a writer, maybe you’ve heard of his books—”

“Wait _the_ Joshua Matthews is our _uncle_!? Like the _writer_ Joshua Matthews!?” Victoria interrupted. “Aunt Maya’s going to _flip_! She owns all the books he’s ever written. She is probably his biggest fan!”

“I’m surprised anybody reads his heartbreak nonsense, to be honest,” Amelia said.

“Don’t let Aunt Maya hear you say that. She _loves_ him! She thinks he’s the best writers ever and she doesn’t even read anything else,” Victoria answered. “Okay. Tell me more, I want to know _everything_.”

“Well, there’s Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma is a lawyer and Grandpa is a history teacher. They just moved our great-grandparents to New York to live with them. They’re all from Philadelphia. Uncle Auggie just married Aunt Ava. They both took over Aunt Ava’s mom’s business when her mom died. Then there’s Uncle Farkle, yes that’s his real name. He’s married to his high school sweetheart, Aunt Isadora. They’re both scientists and right now they’re helping work to find a cure for childhood cancer.

Uncle Farkle and Mom have been friends since they were kids. And then there’s Mom. You know about Mom, she’s the publicist for the Knicks. But everyone knows that.”

“How is she as a mother? Is she the kind of person you can talk to about anything? Or is she too busy to talk to you?”

“She always makes time for me no matter what,” Amelia answered. “Even if it’s really late at night and she’s been working all day. You’ll like her. What about dad?

“He’s good,” Victoria said. “He leaves all lady problems to Aunt Maya but I can go to him for advice about anything. If he doesn’t think we’re spending enough time together, he’ll wake me up and take me to go with him on his home visits. It’s great, really. Uncle Zay and Aunt Maya are his friends. They don’t live with us even though they’re over practically all the time.

“Aunt Maya draws cartoons for the local paper and she’s sometimes a children’s illustrator. Uncle Zay is married to Aunt Vanessa. They have triplets with a set of twins on the way. He choreographs ballets. . . the one everybody loves the most is this Notebook-esque story set completely to Celine Dion songs. It’s weird but brilliant all at the same time. I think you’ll like him.”

Amelia smiled. “He sounds great.”

“Are there are a lot of rules to follow with Mom? When I first met you, it seemed like you were somebody who lived under a lot of rules.”

“There aren’t a lot of rules,” Amelia said carefully. “Just a lot of structure. . . like I can’t have dessert if you don’t eat your vegetables. And I have to practice violin before I can watch an hour of television. It isn’t that bad really. Structure is a good thing. What about you? Dad has to have rules for you.”

“I can’t call China or anything but he gives me a lot more leeway than you probably have,” Victoria said. “I think you’ll enjoy your taste of freedom.”

“Do you really think maybe we could get mom and dad back together?” Amelia asked tentatively.

“Has mom ever gotten married again?” Victoria asked.

“No. She hasn’t even dated anyone. Neither has Uncle Josh for that matter,” Amelia answered thoughtfully.

“My dad. . .  I mean dad hasn’t had a serious relationship with anyone either,” Victoria replied. “He goes on dates but only because he has a fan club. He’s just trying to keep his clients. He always tells me that _I’m_ his number one girl. Of course, you’ll be his number one girl too when he realizes you’re his other daughter and not me.”

Amelia smiled. “I’d like that!”

“Me too!” Victoria replied, throwing her arms around Amelia. “This is going to be so good! Just you wait. Everything is going to work out perfectly!”

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Now we’re getting down to it. The next chapter the girls will finally put the plan into action. It’ll mostly be family stuff. Maybe some Zay-Amelia interaction, if I can fit it in. There will probably be at least 2 more chapters until Rucas and Joshaya are reunited. Good things come to those who wait my darlings.
> 
> I hope you will tell me what you think! I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about this chapter. If you have the time, drop a review.
> 
> I am so freaking stressed out guys. I won’t even get into it with you but I’m overwhelmed. I am trying as hard as I can to keep ahead of this story, but I can’t make promises I’ll have stuff exactly on Fridays anymore.


	7. the Switch

**.**

**Chapter 7 the Switch**

“You’ll have to call me as soon as you’re settled!” Victoria commanded. “Or I’ll call you, whatever works. I’m going to find out as much as I can about mom and dad. Once we know them better, we can put together a plan of action. If everything works out, they’ll be back in each other’s lives before school starts in September!”

Amelia nodded. “Sounds good,” she answered, swinging Victoria’s popsicle birdcage back and forth.

“Amelia Matthews! Your Uncle Joshua is here to pick you up!” Lindsey called.

“That’s you,” Amelia told Victoria, handing her the birdcage before hugging her. “Good luck!”

“Good luck to you too!” Victoria replied, hurrying to meet Josh. She stopped and quickly hugged Lindsey and Hayley goodbye, thanking them for everything they had done for her. Then it was just her and her great-uncle.

A peculiarly young great-uncle, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when she realized he was indeed terribly young.

“You have blonde in your hair,” Josh said in way of greeting.

Victoria laughed. “Oh! It was just a silly prank! Some girl didn’t like me and she put peroxide into my shampoo.”

Josh lifted an eyebrow. “I can’t say your mother will be too happy when she sees it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Josh grabbed her into a hug. “I missed you kiddo. It certainly wasn’t the same without you around this summer. Whatever happened to all those letters you promised to write us? Remember the night we spent pre-addressing and stamping those envelopes?”

Victoria laughed again. “Oh well, it was just one of those things. We meant to write but we got really busy.”

“We?” Josh repeated, taking her birdcage and violin case. “Who’s we?”

“Oh just this girl I met,” Victoria replied casually. “Her name’s Amanda. She and I shared a cabin for the last few weeks of camp. She was great, really.”

“I see,” Josh answered.

“She knew who you were,” Victoria said. “Her aunt is a huge fan of your work. She has all your novels, actually. Every single one you’ve ever written, actually.”

“Oh really?”

“Yup,” Victoria confirmed. “I think Amanda said her aunt’s name was Maya, actually.”

“Maya?” Josh repeated, paling slightly as he slid into the driver’s seat.

“Do you know somebody called Maya?” Victoria asked innocently.

“I-I used to,” Josh replied. “It was a long time ago. I doubt they’re even the same people. It’s probably just a coincidence. Come on and get into the car. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us and your mother’s anxious to have you home.”

Victoria nodded. She was eager to meet her mother, the woman she hadn’t ever heard anything about but had always known existed. Amelia had told her some stuff but she felt like there was so much more to discover about her. She could hardly wait to get to New York.

**.**

Amelia would have recognized him anywhere. She had memorized his picture, she probably knew his face better than she knew her own.

“Dad?” She said, the word foreign on her tongue but all kinds of right.

“There you are Vic!” Lucas answered, picking her up and spinning her around.

Amelia hugged him tightly. “I missed you so much!”

“You too!” Lucas replied. “You’re _never_ leaving ever again!”

Amelia laughed. “Okay!” she agreed.

Lucas put her down and looked at her. “Did you have a good time at camp?”

“Yes,” Amelia answered.

“Did you meet anybody nice?” Lucas asked.

“I met a few nice girls. There was on in particular I hit it off with,” Amelia said. “Her name was. . . Vanna. We did everything together.”

Lucas gathered up her suitcases. “That’s nice. Maybe we could have Vanna come for a visit during Christmas vacation.”

Amelia grinned. “I think she’d like that.”

“Come on, Maya and Zay are dying to see you again! They’re at the house waiting for us, I think Maya’s cooking. You better hope she used a recipe this time. You and I both know her experiments usually turn out to be inedible.”

Amelia smiled, Victoria had informed her all about Maya’s cooking and had suggested she fill up on snacks before dinner because chances were she would go hungry if she didn’t.

“We’ll order take out if it isn’t good,” Lucas promised. “How does pizza sound?”

“Good,” Amelia answered.

Pizza was rare in her house, a treat for a good grade or a job well done during a recital. Amelia, as much as she was looking forward to getting to know her father, she was looking forward to lighter rules too.

She was probably going to learn to live a little.

**.**

Casa Friar-Hart-Babineaux was in full swing when Lucas and Amelia arrived. Celine Dion was playing full blast and tomato sauce was bubbling on the stove while a man, who had to be Zay, was dragging two kids down the hall by his ankles while another one was hanging from his back and a dog followed them, barking up a storm.

“Vic’s home!” The girl shouted, scrambling to her feet and charging for Amelia.

“Hi Keisha!” Amelia said leaning down to embrace her.

She was bombarded with hugs by Zay, Maya and Marcus while Timothy screamed in her ear.

“Guys, give her some breathing space!” Lucas chided as he came into the entryway.

“You know, there’s something different about you,” Zay observed.

“I guess I’m a little taller,” Amelia said. “I think I had a growth spurt at camp.”

“No, it’s definitely not that,” Zay answered, following her to her bedroom while Maya dashed off to check on dinner, promising they’d catch up later.

“I’ll be right back,” Lucas said vaguely. “I have to check on something outside.”

Maya frowned at him but didn’t say anything as she cursed because her tomato sauce had burned in the few seconds she’d left it alone.

**.**

“Did you miss us?” Zay asked as Amelia dumped all her clothes in the hamper.

“Yeah,” Amelia answered. “Did you miss me?”

“A lot,” Zay assured her. “But things weren’t too boring around here while you were gone.”

“Oh?”

Zay frowned. “You mean you’re father didn’t tell you? That man! He promised he would when you were face-to-face.”

Amelia smiled as she retrieved her swimsuit.  “What are you talking about Uncle Zay? Is it a surprise?”

“Oh it’s a surprise alright!” Zay replied. “But it’s none of my never mind. I’m not saying a word, not one single word!”

Amelia shrugged. “Okay then. I’m going to go for a swim before dinner.”

Zay went into the kitchen, giving Amelia privacy so she could change into her swimsuit. His wife Vanessa was juggling their newborn and a cell phone while Maya was sheepishly cleaning up her mess.

“He didn’t do it!” Zay informed both women.

Maya rolled her eyes. “I knew he wouldn’t, coward!”

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “You mean she still doesn’t know? You didn’t say anything, did you?”

“I’m not _that_ stupid, Ness!” Zay retorted.

“Imma go make him tell her!” Maya threatened with her wooden spoon.

“Make who tell what?” Lucas asked, coming into the kitchen.

“I think you know what you need to tell her!” Maya answered, glaring at him.

The woman standing by his side frowned. “We talked about this! You promised you’d tell her, Luke!”

“I got distracted!” Lucas lied.

“You’re a chicken, Huckleberry!” Maya retorted. “That’s why you didn’t tell her!”

“Tell me what?” Amelia asked as she came into the kitchen, she looked at the new addition to the group. “Wait a second, who’s _she_?”

Lucas smiled sheepishly. “I have something to tell you Vic. . .”

**.**

“Is that my Amelia? That tall gangly thing?”

Victoria laughed as her grandfather pulled her into a hug. She hadn’t ever been hugged by a grandparent, she quite liked it.

Josh laughed too. “I found her on the side of the road and decided to take pity on her and bring her home.”

“Well, I’m glad you did!” Cory hugged her again. “Did you have a good summer, kiddo?”

“Yes!” Victoria answered, holding onto him tightly and burying her face in his shirt.

Cory pulled away and looked at her. “What are you doing?”

“Making a memory,” Victoria replied. “When I’m older, I want to remember you smelled like coffee and old books. And chalk. . .”

“And school isn’t even in session,” Josh teased.

“I’ve had summer school!” Cory insisted.

“Sure you have!” Josh said, nudging him.

“Go and find Topanga!” Cory ordered. “She’ll want to know her granddaughter is home!”

“Where’s mom?” Victoria asked. “I didn’t think she had anything going on today?”

“I’m right here!”

Victoria turned around and was completely dumbstruck when she saw her mother actually standing in front of her in a tailored dress and heels. This was really happening, she was seeing her mother for the first time.

“Mom. . .”

“Amelia, it’s so good to have you home!” Riley said, going over to her and hugging her.

“It’s good to be here Mom,” Victoria answered, closing her eyes and holding tight.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ow that the switch is out of the way, we can get down to the bones of this story. I am looking forward to reuniting Rucas and Joshaya. I am sure you’ll all be on board for that. In the meantime, I am looking forward to your reviews!
> 
> I will try not to use this space to complain about my life but believe me when I say my family is going through a hard time. I love writing for you, creating worlds with my beloved characters are my most relaxing time of the day. I will continue to produce and post stories! Thank you for your support.


	8. the Fiancée

**.**

**Chapter 8 the Fiancée**

“Who _IS_ she!?” Amelia demanded, shocked by the volume of her own voice because she was usually more even-tempered.

It was the perfect reaction though. Her father, Zay, Vanessa and Maya all exchanged looks that seemed to say _“same old Vic”_.

“Vic, honey. . .” Lucas said cautiously, putting his arm through the blonde’s with the model good looks. “This is my fiancée, Blake Robinson.”

 _“Fiancée!”_ Amelia repeated, her stomach sinking to her toes. “What do you mean _fiancée_!?”

“It means we’re going to get married,” Lucas explained.

“I know what fiancée means!” Amelia snapped, she whirled around and looked at her father’s friends. “You all knew about this and you kept it from h-from me!”

“Victoria, sugar, it wasn’t our place to tell!” Vanessa protested.

“In all fairness, it isn’t _our_ fault! We told your father to tell you about Blake, we told him to do it more than once,” Zay added.

Blake held up her hand. “I thought you knew. He said you two were close. . .”

Amelia shook her head. “Well, I thought we were but apparently I was wrong. Dad how could you do this to us!? We’re all happy, aren’t we? She’s going to ruin _everything_!”

“Honey, we’re still going to be a family,” Maya said comfortingly.

“You don’t understand!” Amelia fired back. “You just _don’t_!”

“Victoria, don’t make a scene!” Lucas scolded.

“Don’t make a scene!?” Amelia repeated. “Non posso credere che si stanno ottenendo risposati. sei stupido!

“I think she just called you stupid in Italian,” Zay told Lucas helpfully.

Lucas scrubbed his face. “When did Vic learn Italian? It wasn’t in the brochure for the camp she went to, was it?” he asked, looking at Maya.

Maya shook her head.

“Abbiamo avuto il piano perfetto e vi stiamo rovinando!” Amelia continued to rant, glaring at her father. “Spero tu sia felice!”

“Great Lucas, how do you plan on calming her down now?” Zay asked.

“So much for a nice family dinner,” Maya muttered.

Amelia turned to Blake and started to wave her hands in the air. “E tu! sei niente di meglio di una rovina famiglie!”

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t pick these phrases up in a Macaroni Grill bathroom,” Zay muttered to Vanessa.

“Vic!” Vanessa shouted. “Vic! Why don’t you go and put some clothes on and then come with me and Maya to pick up the pizza for  dinner?”

Amelia’s shoulder’s slumped. She didn’t _really_ want to go with them, she wanted to stay and fight her father some more but she got the feeling they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

**.**

“I’m sorry I have a big meeting that I can’t get out of,” Riley said as she brushed her hair.

“I was really hoping we could spend the day together,” Victoria replied. “I’ve got so much I want to ask you.”

“Like what?” Riley asked, applying a thin layer of lipgloss.

“Well. . . you see. . . there was a boy I met at camp,” Victoria lied.

“That’s nice,” Riley hummed. “You have your first crush.”

“I think it’s more than just a crush,” Victoria said. “So, I was wondering how long you and my father waited to get married after you met.”

“Wait. _What_!?” Riley asked, putting her perfume down and turning around to look at her daughter, who was running out of the bedroom.

Riley whipped her phone out and dialed her boss’s number. “Hey Ed, something came up. Could we postpone the meeting for later on? I know we said this was important but my daughter just came home from camp and she sort of dropped a bombshell on me. That’s fine, I’ll see you later. Okay, goodbye Ed. I will.”

Riley sighed and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to her feet before pulling a Knicks t-shirt and a pair of jeans on.

**.**

“Marriage isn’t something you just rush into,” she explained to Victoria as they took a walk in Central Park.

“Of course!” Victoria agreed. “ I’d have to feel like I really knew the person first!”

“And there’s the fact that you’re only going to be 12,” Riley added. “Nobody would marry you without your parent or legal guardian’s consent. And you know I won’t be consenting anytime soon!’

“When did you meet my father?” Victoria asked. “Don’t try and not answer me, mom. A girl’s got a right to know her father.”

“I wasn’t much older than you,” Riley answered reluctantly. “We met on the subway, my best friend at the time pushed me into lap.”

“Was it love at first sight?”

Riley shook her head. “I hardly knew what love was! I was only going to be 13.”

“You didn’t love him?”

Riley released a deep breath as a million memories washed over her. “Of course I loved him. But it started out as friendship and a crush mostly. I didn’t love him until later on. But then maybe I always did love him. . .”

“Do you still love him?” Victoria pressed.

Riley shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it,” she fibbed.

“When did you guys get married?”

Riley laughed hollowly. “What’s with all these questions, Ame?”

“A girl deserves to know! All my friends know about their parents and I don’t know anything about mine.”

“We got married on a cruise that Farkle’s parents gave us for our college graduation. It was spur of the moment. We probably should have waited until we were both older. Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten married at all. Of course I wouldn’t have had you if we hadn’t gotten married. So in the end, it was a small blessing.”

“What happened?” Victoria asked.

“We both wanted different things,” Riley said, putting her arm around her. “Listen, I don’t regret knowing your father or marrying him or anything he and I had between. It was a wonderful part of my life but that part is over now. No sense dwelling on the past.”

“So, if he ever showed up at your door and said he had never stopped loving you and he wanted you back, would you reject him?”

“It’s not going to happen!” Riley insisted.

“But what if it _did_? Would you turn him away? Say too much time has gone by for you guys to try and work it out?”

“I-I don’t know,” Riley answered. “Honey, don’t get your hopes up about your father coming back for us. Too much time has passed and there are things you don’t know about our breakup. Things that are too. . . problematic to try and piece our family back together.”

_You have no idea what I know, mom. . ._

Victoria smiled. “But you wouldn’t say no?”

“I don’t know,” Riley repeated. “Let’s not talk about your father anymore. Since you already got me out of work, why don’t you tell me about camp?”

**.**

“You _like_ her!” Amelia accused in the middle of Maya’s explanation why Blake would be good for the family, good for her father.

 _“What!?”_ Maya asked, looking like she had been slapped in the face. “No! Vic, I _love_ your mother. Not a day goes by where I don’t pray that she’ll show up here and everything will be the way it was before!”

“Then why are you standing up for her? She’s _stealing_ him!”

“From who exactly?” Maya asked. “He most certainly does not belong to _me_ and there are certain things a man needs. . . things a daughter can’t provide.”

“Sex?” Amelia asked bluntly.

Vanessa sighed. “Honey. . .”

“Why can’t _he_ go see my Mom?”

“I don’t think you understand what happened,” Maya said. “How big and ugly it turned out to be. I mean, _we_ had to get divorced from them. . .”

“That sort of worked out,” Vanessa said, smiling. “I would have never gotten back together with Zay if he hadn’t been here.”

“Okay, so it worked out for the two of you,” Maya replied. “But not so much for the rest of us. . .”

“Sweetie, if they were going to get back together it would have happened a long time ago,” Vanessa told her. “I’m sorry but they’ll probably go the rest of their lives without seeing each other.”

Amelia wanted to tell them everything. How they’d have to at least see each other again because she wasn’t really Victoria. But she’d only been there a few hours and she could only imagine how Vanessa and Maya would react to that sort of news. They’d probably insist on her telling the truth right away and she’d be back in New York before the end of the weekend.

Plus, Victoria still didn’t know their father was going to get married. She had to be on board with speeding up the plan before she dropped any kind of bombshells.

**.**

“So apparently they met when they were our age,” Victoria said in way of greeting. “On the subway of all places! Aunt Maya literally pushed her in his arms. . .”

 _“Vic!”_ Amelia snapped. “Dad’s getting married!”

“Haha, very funny!” Victoria replied.

“I’m _serious_! You need to bring mom out here immediately!”

“I told you, he’s never serious about any of the girls he dates. She’s probably delusional!” Victoria answered. “Dad would never get engaged without telling me about it first! Without introducing me to the woman first, actually.”

“Well he _did_!” Amelia retorted. “Please get over here as soon as you can! This is serious!”

“I only just got mom though!” Victoria whined. “I barely even know her! This isn’t fair, Ame! Sabotage her or something and let me have a few more days with mom, please!”

Amelia narrowed her eyes. “Fine but I’m pretty sure—”

There was a click, signaling the end of their call. Amelia dialed her back and it went straight to voicemail.

“Listen, our conversation _better_ have dropped! It isn’t cool if you hung up on me! If I can’t get rid of her in two days, you _are_ going to tell mom about the whole plan and you _are_ coming to Texas. This isn’t up for discussion, Victoria! I’ll talk to you later. Goodbye!”

She threw her phone on the bed and flopped down, covering her eyes with her arm. There had to be a way to get out of this. There just had to be.

**.**

“Who were you talking to?” Cory asked as she padded out of her bedroom in search of a midnight snack.

“Just a friend from camp,” Victoria answered. “I found something of her’s in my suitcase, we were talking about how to get it back to her. Who’d pay shipping, stuff like that. . .”

“That’s not what it sounded like,” Topanga said, looking at her suspiciously.

“Well, it _was_!” Victoria assured them, reaching for a chocolate chip cookie. “Really.”

“You shouldn’t be eating this late!” Topanga reminded her.

Victoria frowned. “Why not?”

“It’s not good for your nightmares,” Cory replied, looking at her with confusion. “Remember?”

“Oh! Right, she mentioned something about that!”

“She?” Topanga repeated.

Victoria laughed. “Oh, it was a game we played at camp. I’ll just get some water and go to bed. Okay? Okay. Love you Grandma, Grandpa.”

Topanga turned to her husband when Victoria had left the room. “Something’s going on here, Cory.”

“I know!” Cory agreed. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” Topanga answered. “But I intend to find out!”

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amelia’s rant translates to I can’t believe you’re getting remarried! Are you stupid? And We had the perfect plan and you’re ruining it. I hope you’re happy! and You! you’re nothing better than a homewrecker. I confess, I don’t know Italian so I copy and pasted it from Google translate. 
> 
> Topanga is still Topanga, so for the sake of the story she is going to be on to her granddaughter even though it didn’t happen in Parent Trap. I haven’t decided if she calls her out on it or not but she probably will, to be honest. Just privately. 
> 
> More to come soon, I promise! Next Friday is my next Broadway show but since that’s all I have going on, I’m sure I’ll be able to post before I go out for the night.
> 
> Drop a review if you’d like, I love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until Next Time!


	9. the Jig Is Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone finds out exactly what's going on.

**.**

**Chapter 9 the Jig Is Up**

“How much younger are you than my dad anyways?” Amelia asked as Blake poured a bright green smoothie into a glass.

“I don’t think that really matters do you?”

“Are you in it for the money? Everybody knows my dad is one of the best vets in the state and that he has a sizable bank account.”

Blake gave her a plastic smile. “Now I don’t really think that is any of your business, is it sweetie pie?”

Amelia sighed and tried it from a different angle. “I guess I’m going to call you mom from now on. Or do you want me to refer to you as my aunt?”

Blake shook her head. “You can just call me Blake, thank you very much!” she answered.

Amelia smiled sweetly. “You know you weren’t that much older than I am now when I was born, right?”

Blake choked on her smoothie. “You’re awfully chatty this morning, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to make conversation,” Amelia replied, biting into the blueberry muffins Vanessa had left for her before chugging her chocolate milk.

“Maybe we could talk about something else,” Blake suggested, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

“Do you live here now?” Amelia asked.

“How about we talk about you?” Blake said quickly. “Your dad says you like to ride horses.”

Amelia paused. Out of all the things they talked about, Victoria hadn’t told her a thing about riding horses. She hadn’t even _mentioned_ it. She decided to tell sort of a lie.

“Oh, I used to ride horses!” She said offhandedly. “But I decided to concentrate on my piano playing.”

“Your father didn’t say you played the piano,” Blake answered.

Amelia shrugged. “I’ve played a lot of instruments. He probably thinks I lost interest.”

“I see,” Blake said.

“Did he tell you about my mother?”

“We’re still talking about _you_ ,” Blake told her.

“Me? There isn’t anything interesting to say about _me_!” Amelia replied. “I’d much rather talk about you. What do you do with yourself when you’re not with my father?”

“I run _my_ father’s microbrewery.”

“You’re 21?”

“I’m 26,” Blake corrected, looking pleased that Amelia said she looked like she was 5 years younger than she actually was.

“So you were my age when I was born!”

Blake rolled her eyes. “I was _15_ when you were born. Not 11. Listen, I know it’s hard to watch your father get remarried. Especially if you’re hoping he’ll get back together with your mother. But honey, it ain’t going to happen. You better resign yourself to the fact that I’m a part of your life. Now, I’m going for a run. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Oh, I’m sorry but I’m going with Uncle Zay to watch rehearsals! Maybe I’ll see you later!” Amelia answered, making a face when Blake had turned her back.

.

With Blake gone, Amelia decided to put another phone call into Victoria. Hoping she’d finally listen to reason and get their mother on a plane to Texas, ASAP. They were headed into Defcon 5, she needed reinforcements.

If they didn’t do something, she was pretty sure Victoria was headed for a boarding school in Switzerland. She punched the number in on the house phone and vaguely wondered who still used the landline while it rang.

Amelia was yanked off her rabbit trail when she heard a voice at the end of the line that sounded distinctly like her grandfather’s. Her heart dropped to her toes while she scrambled for a way to get out of the mess she had accidentally walked into.

She raised her own voice an octave or two, her heart pounding in her throat. “Is Vic there?” she asked.

“Amelia, is that you?”

Amelia laughed. “Who’s _that_? This is Ermentrude! I met Vic at camp.”

“Why are you saying your name is Ermentrude? The caller ID says _Amelia_!”

“Uhhhhhhh. . .” Amelia trailed off. “Is Vic there?”

“I’m sorry but she’s out with her mother.”

Amelia huffed. “And she didn’t bring her phone?”

“Sorry. Could I take a message?”

“Ummmmmm. . . no, that’s okay! I’ll just call back later!” Amelia said quickly. “‘Bye!”

She hung up quickly. Her pulse was tripping like crazy at almost getting caught by her grandfather. He was way smarter than people gave him credit for. He was probably telling her grandmother what was going on while she stood there sweating it out.

“Vic?”

Amelia dropped the phone without putting it back on the receiver and whirled around. Maya was studying her.

“Oh! Hiiii Auntie Maya!” She said laughing nervously.

“Hey Vic,” Maya replied. “Who were you talking to?”

“Um. . .”

 _“Um?”_ Maya repeated. “I’m going to need a little more than _um_ kiddo.

“Well. . .”

Maya nodded. “Well, let me see if I can help you.”

Amelia gulped. “Okay. . .”

“You remind me of someone,” Maya said.

“Who?” Amelia asked, knowing where she was going with it but not wanting to hear it.

“My best friend,” Maya replied. “And I’m not talking about Lucas. The Lord knows Victoria acts more like me than she acts like him. Don’t try and tell me that you’re bound to remind of your mother. Because if you really are Vic then you’ve never spent more than a few days with her in your life.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re Amelia, aren’t you?” Maya asked.

Amelia swallowed hard, getting ready to lie but she knew it would be useless. Maya _knew_ and she wouldn’t let her get away with it.

“Are you going to tell my father?”

“Tell me what?” Lucas asked. “What’s going on?”

Maya cleared her throat, fighting back tears. “It’s nothing Lucas. Nothing at all. I’m going to go out and get some dinner. Is there anything in you want? Anything in particular? No? I’ll just get everything then.”

“Maya what has gotten into you? Why are you acting so un-Maya like?” Lucas asked.

“What do you mean?” Maya asked as she shuffled around looking for her keys and purse. “I’m acting the way I always act.”

“No you’re not,” Lucas insisted. “And why are you looking at Vic that way?”

“What way?” Maya answered. “This is the way I’ve always looked at her, ever since she came home from the hospital. I don’t know what you’re talking about! You two just catch up, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

“What has gotten into her?” Lucas asked Amelia. “Did she meet someone?”

Amelia shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Listen, sweetie, I want to talk to you about something.”

Amelia sighed. “You talked to Blake, didn’t you?”

“Yes and even though she’s happy that you’re making an effort to get to know her, she wishes it wouldn’t be on quite a personal level. Why don’t you stick with basics for now? Like her favorite animals or something like that?”

Amelia scoffed as she went into the living room and sat down at the piano. “Blake actually an animal lover?” she asked, plunking out the first few notes of _Clair De Lune_.

“Animal lover might be a little too strong but she _likes_ them well enough,” Lucas said.

Amelia switched to Beethoven. “Well, I hope you two are very happy together.”

“When did you learn to play Moonlight Sonata without sheet music?” Lucas asked.

Amelia looked up at him. “I’ve always known how to play this without sheet music. You just didn’t notice. Why are you marrying her? Don’t you ever wonder if my mother is still single?”

Lucas laughed and sat down next to Amelia on the bench. “Trust me a girl like her would never be single for long. Guys would be stupid if they didn’t try to at least date her. And even if she is, I’m sure she’s not sitting around waiting for me to show up at her doorstep.”

Amelia wanted to protest, to tell her father it wasn’t true. But she wasn’t quite ready to let him in on the secret of who she really was.

She didn’t feel like he had earned it yet.

.

“I know who you really are!” Topanga announced to Victoria with Cory by her side. “Your grandfather took a very interesting phone call for you today.”

Victoria cursed herself for not putting a passcode on her phone but she braved a smile. “I can explain!” she promised.

“Okay,” Topanga said, sitting down and taking her granddaughter’s hand.

“We met at camp,” Victoria answered. “We didn’t like each other at first and then we did. We decided we wanted to meet the parent. . . the _family_ we never got to know. She’s in Texas with dad and Aunt Maya and Uncle Zay. Our plan was to have mom and dad meet up eventually to switch us back. We hoped when they saw each other again, they’d realize they were still in love. . .”

“I’m sensing a but,” Cory said.

“Dad met someone and apparently they’re pretty serious,” Victoria said. “Amelia wants to get them back together sooner because she says he making a huge mistake. But I don’t know what to do. I only just met you. I don’t want to give you up so soon.”

Topanga nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you one thing you’re going to do. Tell your mom the truth about who you are. Tell everyone the truth about who you are. After that, we’ll decide what we’re going to do. Together.”

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the delay in updating. Last week was crazy! My sister had invasive surgery, it was planned but it can really throw a person through a loop. Then Friday, was one of my shows and since we were running errands all day, I didn’t really get a chance to finish writing this chapter.
> 
> I hope it was okay. Or at least worth the long wait.
> 
> I am in the midst of writing my NaNoWrimo and eventually I will start working on my Girl Meets World multi-chapter Christmas story. But I am planning on finishing this, hopefully before December comes because I don’t really want to bring this into 2017 with me. I have a bunch of other stories I am hoping to tell you.  
> Please drop a review and tell me what you thought.
> 
> Until Next Time!


	10. the Trip to Texas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Riley finds out.

**.**

**Chapter 10 the Trip to Texas**

“You need to tell your mother,” Cory told Victoria. “She deserves to know.”

“Deserves to know what?”

Topanga, Cory and Victoria all turned around. Riley was standing in the doorway and shrugging out of her floral blazer before kicking off her suede, peep-toe pumps.

“Tell her,” Topanga urged, squeezing her granddaughter’s shoulder. “Come on Cory, let’s go and order dinner.”

“What do you need to tell me?” Riley asked, motioning for Victoria to follow her into her bedroom.

“Um. . .” Victoria fumbled. “I have to go out of town today.”

Riley laughed and unzipped her snug, leather skirt. “What are you talking about?”

Victoria flopped down on her mother’s bed and buried her face in the covers. “I have to go out of town,” she repeated.

“Okay,” Riley answered, laughing some more. “Why do you have to go out of town, Ame?”

“I have to go see Amelia,” Victoria mumbled.

“Oh? And where’s Amelia?” Riley asked, playing along as she pulled on a loose pair of pants.

“She’s in Texas with her father Lucas Friar.”

Riley stopped short and went over to her daughter, pulling her up so they could look at each other. Feeling the sudden urge to burst out crying. “You’re not Amelia?”

“You’re right,” Victoria confirmed.

_“You’re Victoria?”_

“I am,” she replied. “Amelia and I met up at camp and we decided to switch places. I’ve never seen you and I’ve dreamed of knowing you my whole life. Amelia felt the same way about dad. So, so we just switched lives. Please don’t be mad, I love you so much. And I hope one day you can love me as me—”

“Oh honey,” Riley said, pulling her into her arms and kissing her on the forehead, tears clogging her throat. “I’ve loved you your whole life.”

 

“So, Amelia is Victoria?” Josh asked Topanga and Cory as they watched the reunion from the bedroom door.

“Yes,” Topanga said, closing the door to give the pair some much needed privacy.

“So, I guess you have to switch us back now?” Victoria asked.

“Technically you belong to your father and Amelia belongs to me.”

Victoria sighed as she rested her head on her mom’s shoulder. “His and her’s kids. Mom, this arrangement really sucks!”

“I know!” Riley said, pulling her closer.

“We should fly to Texas and work this whole thing out.”

“You’re right,” Riley said. “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll work this whole thing out. Don’t worry about a thing.”

**.**

“I can’t handle this!” Riley told Josh as she came out of her closet. “I haven’t seen or heard from Lucas in years and suddenly I am flying all the way to Texas. . . I mean, we came up with this arrangement so we would never have to see each other again. Look at me, Josh. Have you ever seen me like this?

“Well. . .”

“Don’t answer that!” Riley chided. “What if he doesn’t recognize me? No! Don’t answer that either!”

Josh giggled at her, sounding younger than he had in a while.

“Victoria says he’s still as cute as ever. Gosh, he could make me weak in the knees.”

“I know,” Josh answered.

“All set!” Victoria said, coming into the bedroom.

“Me too!” Riley replied. “Well, almost. . .”

Victoria looked at Riley’s suitcase. “Mom, you’re not even packed yet!”

“Have you talked to your father yet?” Riley asked frantically. “Does he know we’re coming yet?”

“I just got off the phone with him,” Victoria lied. “He said he’s really anxious to see you!”

Riley smiled. “Really? What do you think he meant by anxious? Anxious excited or excited nervous?”

“I’m pretty sure he meant he was anxious excited!” Victoria assured her. “He says he wants us all to meet at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek tomorrow at noon.”

“Oh? So soon?” Riley cleared her throat. “Sweetie, why don’t you go and talk to your grandparents about our travel plans?”

“Okay!” Victoria agreed.

Riley turned to Josh. “I have a request.”

“Oh no,” Josh answered, shaking his head.

“Come on! You’re so much more than my uncle,” Riley protested. “You’re more like my brother. I could really use your support.”

“I can’t!” Josh insisted. “I haven’t seen Maya in 11 years and I know she’ll be there.”

“Yeah but she’s still totally single. She still misses you! Please come with me!” Riley begged. “Please Uncle Josh. _Pleasseeeeee_!”

When she said it like that, Josh couldn’t say no. Even if it meant seeing Maya again and not picking up where they had left off.

“Okay,” he finally agreed, smirking at her. “But could I make a suggestion?”

“Sure,” Riley answered almost uncertainly.

Josh ducked into her closet and came out with a little black dress that still had all the tags on it. “If I were seeing my ex again for the first time in 11 years, I’d wear this number.”

“You are seeing your ex again for the first time in 11 years,” Riley reminded him. “Are you going to clean yourself up before you see her? Shave your beard? Buy some new clothes? I don’t think she’ll really like the angsty writer look you’ve got going on.”

“This isn’t about me and Maya,” Josh replied. “Since I’m going with you, I have to go pack for myself.”

**.**

“It’s lucky the Knicks let us use their private jet,” Victoria commented as they took off. “We might not have gotten there in time otherwise.”

Riley nodded and poured herself some Vodka and seltzer water.

“Careful Riles,” Josh said. “It isn’t even 5pm yet.”

“It is somewhere!” Riley answered cheerfully, downing her drink in one gulp.

“Well, at least pace yourself!” Josh cautioned.

“I’ll be okay!” Riley assured him. “Don’t be such a spoilsport!”

Josh sighed and sat down next to Victoria. “This won’t end well. Your mother hardly ever drinks and I can’t remember a time she got drunk. She must be really nervous about seeing your father.”

“It’s a good thing she doesn’t know he’s getting married,” Victoria muttered.

Josh, who was in the middle of taking his laptop out of his messenger bag, looked at her. “Wait. What did you say?”

“Nothing!” Victoria answered hastily.

“Were you planning on telling your mother about this development before we got to Texas?” Josh asked.

Victoria put her finger to her lips. “Shhhh! I’ll tell her before we get there, I promise!”

Josh gave her a stern look. “You better. Oh boy, this is not going to be good!”

“Uncle Josh! You’re going to jinx the whole trip!” Victoria told him.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a safe place. I am here for all of you if you need anything. Just drop me a DM, my inbox is always open. 
> 
> I am sorry that this chapter is painfully short. I just wrote it yesterday afternoon. My life has been crazy. I stayed up late to watch the Election results on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, I was hit with insane acid reflux. I swear I felt like I was having a heart attack, it was that bad. Yesterday, I had to see the doctor to be cleared for physical therapy and we have family coming in for Thanksgiving, so we’ve been cleaning from top to bottom. I hope this was okay though and that you’ll leave me some feedback! 
> 
> Also, sorry for the late update, I went and saw Doctor Strange last night and didn’t have time to post before I left. Hope that’s okay!


	11. the Reunion, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her heart stopped beating for a split second as she realized for the first time in 11 years, she was with the man she had loved since she was 13. And then they were in each other’s arms, talking at the same time, unable to make sense of what the other was saying because they were saying the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. To all of you, I count you among my very many blessings and people I am thankful for.

**.**

**Chapter 11 the Reunion, part I**

When they landed in Texas, Riley was quite buzzed. She was more giggly than she’d ever been as the sophisticated adult she had become. She’d consumed more Vodka and soda then Josh could keep track of. All he wanted to do was get her sobered up before they met with anybody.

“Hey!”

Josh steadied his niece and whirled around, Farkle and Isadora Minkus were making their way towards them, holding hands.

“What are you guys doing here?” Josh asked.

“Mr. and Mrs. Matthews told us what was going on,” Farkle replied. “Do you think we were going to let Riley take this on by herself? We flew out on the helicopter right after we found out that she was going to see Lucas after all these years.”

“How can we help?” Isadora asked, blessedly keeping all her flirtatious comments to herself. “It looks like Riley is very inebriated right now.”

“Yeah,” Josh said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She won’t admit it but I think she’s anxious about seeing Lucas again. I don’t think they’ve been in touch since the divorce.”

“When are we supposed to meet with Lucas?” Isadora inquired, grabbing Riley before she fell forward.

“Izzy! What are you doing here!?” Riley squealed as she threw her arms around the other girl. “Oh my gosh. It’s going to be like a high school reunion of sorts!”

Isadora patted her awkwardly on the back. “Oh, I don’t think it’s going to be like a high school reunion at all.”

Riley gasped and grabbed her longtime best friend. “Farkle, you’re here too! This is so exciting!”

Josh looked at Victoria, who was hanging in the background. “Victoria, why don’t you take your mother and go to the bathroom? I need to talk to Farkle and Isadora about something.”

Victoria nodded and hooked her arm through Riley’s. “Come on Mom. I need to pee.”

“What’s going on Josh?” Farkle asked as soon as Riley and Victoria were out of earshot.

“We have a little problem,” Josh answered.

Farkle frowned. “What do you mean _little problem_?”

Josh rubbed the back of his neck again. “It seems like Lucas has gotten himself engaged to somebody else.”

Isadora’s eyes widened. “You mean he’s going to get remarried?”

“That’s what engaged means,” Josh answered.

“Who’d have thought that Lucas Friar would have ever moved on from Riley Matthews,” Farkle said thoughtfully.

“Does he know Riley’s here?” Isadora asked.

Josh shrugged. “Victoria said she told him we were coming but I’m not sure we can believe her. I mean, she hasn’t told Riley that Lucas is engaged to someone else. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was withholding other information from all of us.”

“What are we going to do?” Isadora asked. “Everything seems more complicated than it’s ever been.”

Farkle nodded and put a comforting arm around his wife. “It does,” he agreed. “But we’ve overcome complicated before. I’m sure we can overcome this too.”

**.**

The ride to the hotel was comprised of Riley chatting up a storm while Josh tried to get her not to drink anymore alcohol, courtesy of the limo that the Knicks had sent to take them to their hotel.

“There’s something I didn’t tell you,” Victoria said in a low voice.

Josh and Farkle exchanged looks.

“And what’s that?” Josh asked.

Victoria giggled nervously. “So, it turns out they’re all going to be at the hotel tonight instead of tomorrow afternoon like I said. Blake, daddy’s fiancée, wanted to scope out wedding venues. That’s the whole reason this has worked out the way it has.”

“Riley’s drunk out of her mind!” Farkle hissed frantically. “We can’t let Lucas see her this way! She’ll never let us live it down! Especially if his fiancée is there. She’s going to kill us!”

“Honey, you forget, Riley doesn’t even know his fiancée exists,” Isadora reminded him.

“ _That_ makes it worse!” Farkle insisted. “Riley’s usually more composed than this. She’s going to hate us when this happens.”

Josh rubbed at his face. It was suddenly dawning on him that he was really going to see Maya again after 11 years. He didn’t want to make it about him because it wasn’t about him, but anticipation and anxiety were working their way into his stomach.

“I probably should have shaved,” he said jokingly, trying to ease the tension that was permeating the limousine.

Isadora and Farkle laughed weakly.

“What are you guys all whispering about!?” Riley asked loudly.

“It’s a surprise!” Farkle answered quickly.

It wasn’t exactly a lie. It _was_ a surprise, just not the good kind. But nobody was ready to tell Riley the truth.

Not yet.

It would come out eventually though. It always did.

 **.  
  
****A** melia and Maya were hanging out around the hotel bar, drinking Shirley Temples and sharing French fries. Zay and Vanessa had already gone to their room to put down their brood for a nap and Blake had suggested, very suggestively, that she and Lucas go check out the honeymoon suite.

“You’re going to ruin your dinner,” Maya said as the bartender put a fresh plate of fries in front of them.

“You sound like my mom,” Amelia answered.

Maya’s eyes widened in mock horror. “Well, we can’t have that happen! Can we? I can’t turn into _Riley_!”

Amelia laughed and tossed a wadded up napkin at Maya, despite their proximity. She glanced at the lobby for the umpteenth time and swallowed her nerves with a sip of soda. They still weren’t there.

“What’s the matter?” Maya asked. “Are you waiting for somebody?”

“Um. . .” Amelia trailed off as Farkle, Isadora, Josh, Riley and Victoria all came through the spinning doors and went to the front desk. “Look! I think I see the First Lady of the United States!”

Instead of looking further into the bar like Amelia had hoped Maya would, she glanced into the lobby.

“Oh my. . .” Maya trailed off, looking like she had seen a ghost as she stood up. “I can’t. . . I have to go! I have to go right now! Oh gosh, I’m trapped! He’s going to see me! I’ve got to hide!”

Amelia frowned. “What’s the matter with you?”

“How do I look?” Maya asked.

“You look fine. . .” Amelia trailed off. “What’s going on?”

“His back is turned!” Maya said frantically. “I’ve got to make a run for it while I still can! Stay here and be good! I’ll talk to you later!”

**.**

Maya texted Zay as she paced outside his and Vanessa’s hotel room until he peeked his head out the door.

“Maya is everything okay?” he asked. “You look terrible!”

“Josh is here!” she answered, running her hands through her hair.

“You look just as gorgeous as the last time he saw you,” Zay assured her.

“He’s probably married with kids by now,” Maya said.

“We both know that isn’t true,” Zay replied as he shifted his son further up his hip. “You’ve been following his career since he published his first book. There haven’t been any wives or any children or even any other women. I’m pretty sure you’re the girl eternalized in every page of his novels. But that’s none of my never mind.”

“What am I going to do?” Maya asked weakly.

“You’re going to go and see him,” Zay answered. “You’ve waited over a decade for this moment. You’ve been planning it ever since the two of you said goodbye. What are you waiting for?”

“I’m scared,” Maya admitted.

“I know and that’s okay,” Zay told her. “I’m sure he’s scared too but you two are worth it. Always have been. It’s time you finally get your happily ever after. Go! Go now before I make you!”

Maya nodded, her heart was in her throat as she gave Zay a quick side hug and went to the elevator. She pressed the down button, waiting very impatiently for the doors to open.

When they did, Josh was waiting for her.

Her heart stopped beating for a split second as she realized for the first time in 11 years, she was with the man she had loved since she was 13. And then they were in each other’s arms, talking at the same time, unable to make sense of what the other was saying because they were saying the same thing.

Maya had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

 

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologize for the brevity of this chapter. I’ve been quite sick this week and I haven’t been able to write anything. I hope the Josh & Maya reunion makes up for it. I’ve been planning this scene the very beginning and it played out the way I wanted it to. I hope this lived up to your expectations. Please tell me what you thought! 
> 
> I’ll be back next week with another chapter. Starting in December, I might have to put this story on hiatus until after the holidays. But only because I have so many treats planned for all my readers over the course of the Christmas season.
> 
> Until Next Time!


	12. the Reunion, part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Maya exchanged looks, Farkle and Isadora exchanged looks and since Zay didn’t have Vanessa to exchange looks with, he decided he would be the one to tell her.
> 
> “Well, boo, the thing is. . . Lucas is going to get married again!” He blurted out.

**.**

**Chapter 12 the Reunion, part II**

“I can’t believe it’s really you! That you’re really here!” Maya said. “I never thought I’d see you again. I’ve kept up with you though. I’ve bought all your books you’re a wonderful writer Josh.”

“You were my muse,” Josh told her. “You’re in every single page of everything I’ve ever written. Everybody always wondered who’d broken my heart, who haunted my stories. I could never tell them about you, I was afraid if I did then you would never find your way back to me.”

Maya nodded, she had seen the interviews on Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley, had clipped out articles of _Entertainment Weekly_ and _Time_ magazine and had saved them all in a photo album. She knew him almost as well as she would have if they had spent every single day together. She’d always wondered in the back of the mind if she was the girl in the books, but she had never allowed herself to hope. . .

“Here we are again,” she said. “We have your grand-nieces to thank for this mess we’re in!”

“We’re in a mess?” Josh asked, pulling away and raising an eyebrow at her.

She nudged him playfully. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes. Riley and Lucas, I’m sure you know Lucas is getting married,” Josh said.

Maya wrinkled her nose and nodded. “Blake Robinson,” she answered flatly. “I can tell you all the reasons she’s interested in Lucas and they’re all sitting down in the bank.”

“Gold digger?”

“Completely!” Maya confirmed. “Not that she needs it, her daddy’s loaded! But girls like that are never really satisfied. It doesn’t hurt that he’s good looking either, if she’s interested in having children, chances are they’ll produce a good-looking kid between the two of them.”

“You don’t like her?”

“Let’s just put it this way, she’s _no_ Riley. And Riley is probably the best person for him,” Maya said. “Speaking of Riley, does she even know what she’s walking into here?”

“Do you mean she knows that Lucas is getting remarried again?” Josh shook his head. “No. You haven’t told her about it?”

Maya’s eyes widened. “How do you know I’ve been talking to her?”

“Oh come on, I know you Maya. You’re not going to let something like friend custody stop you from talking to Riley!”

Maya ducked her head so she could avoid his eyes but only because she couldn’t. “Okay, so maybe we do talk every now and then. And I’m sorry that I’ve kept up some sort of relationship with her when I couldn’t keep one up with you. But to be fair, she reached out first. . .”

“It’s okay! I’m not upset with you,” Josh assured her. “But why haven’t you told her about it yet?”

“Um, I don’t know! Maybe it’s because _did you know your ex is getting remarried_ seems like a difficult topic to broach over the telephone. Besides, you’re her uncle and you see her almost every day of your life. Why didn’t _you_ say something?”

“I only just found out before we got here and then she was bombed. I didn’t think it was something you could bring up while she was drunk.”

Josh and Maya looked at each other and then laughed.

“She’ll have to understand we didn’t know how to tell her,” Maya said. “Besides, Maybe Vic should have been the one to tell her. She’s half of the reason we’re all in this mess. If she and Amelia hadn’t ever traded places than we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.”

“But Riley would have found out he was getting remarried eventually,” Josh pointed out, pressing the down button on the elevator. “Come on, Smackle and Farkle are here. We’ve got to find out some way to let her know what’s going on.”

“Zay’s going to want to see them,” Maya said. “Why don’t I go and see if the kids are asleep and then come down with him.”

“I should go and see how Riley’s doing,” Josh replied. “Make sure she gets to her room okay and that she has everything she needs for the hangover that’s going to follow her drinking binge on the plane earlier.”

“Go and take care of her,” Maya answered. “I’ll still be here when you’re done.”

**.**

Josh took the elevator down to the lobby to collect Riley. He found her in the bar, drinking a concoction that he hoped wasn’t more alcohol.

She smiled when she saw him come in. “Hey Josh, this is supposed to sober me up before I see Lucas but it tastes like tar,” she informed him.

“How about you take that to your room and shower and take a nap before you see Lucas?” Josh suggested anxiously.

“Why?” Riley asked. “He can see me like this! He’s seen me in much worse situations. i.e. childbirth. Did you find Maya?”

“How’d you know I was—”? Josh shook his head. “You know what, never mind. Come on let’s go to your room.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Why do I feel like there’s something everyone’s not telling me? You don’t have to protect me, I know all about the big bad world. I’m not a little girl anymore. Come on Uncle Josh—”

“You are nearly not sober enough to deal with it,” Jos h answered, it slipped out before he could stop it.

Riley frowned at him. “Tell me what you know—”

“What’s Riley still doing here?” Maya interrupted as she, Zay, Farkle and Isadora all came into the bar. “I thought you were going to get rid of her—”

 _“PEACHES!”_ Riley squealed, getting up and catapulting herself into Maya’s arms.

“Hi Honey,” Maya answered, patting her on the back. “You look tired, why don’t you go and take a nap?”

Riley pouted. “But we just saw each other again for the first time! I don’t _want_ to go! And there’s Zay!”

“Hi Riley,” Zay answered as she launched herself at him.

Riley grinned. “Look at us! All together again just like it was always supposed to be. Except Lucas isn’t here yet. Where is he anyways?”

Zay cleared his throat. “Well, somebody needs to tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Riley asked.

“You do it Smackle,” Zay said. “You’re better at being blunt about this kind of stuff!”

She looked offended. “Hey! I’ve gotten better!”

“Well, somebody has to tell her!” Zay insisted.

“Tell me _what_!?” Riley almost yelled.

Josh and Maya exchanged looks, Farkle and Isadora exchanged looks and since Zay didn’t have Vanessa to exchange looks with, he decided he would be the one to tell her.

“Well, boo, the thing is. . . Lucas is going to get married again!” He blurted out.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Parent Trap will return January 2017. In the meantime, I hope you will tell me what you thought. I am sorry for the delay, it took me longer to write than I expected. Riley is a tough girl to write at times and this chapter was no exception.   
> Drop me a review, I’ll be back on Friday with a Christmas story!
> 
> Until Next Time!


	13. the Reunion, pt. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Lucas finds out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everybody! I trust it’s been good to you so far. I mean, Ed Sheeran has new music! He saved 2017!!!! Anywho, I want to thank everyone who reviewed chapter 12. Regular shout-outs will resume next week!

**.**

**_Previously on “the Parent Trap”:_ **

_“What’s Riley still doing here?” Maya interrupted as she, Zay, Farkle and Isadora all came into the bar. “I thought you were going to get rid of her—”_

_“PEACHES!” Riley squealed, getting up and catapulting herself into Maya’s arms._

_“Hi Honey,” Maya answered, patting her on the back. “You look tired, why don’t you go and take a nap?”_

_Riley pouted. “But we just saw each other again for the first time! I don’t want to go! And there’s Zay!”_

_“Hi Riley,” Zay answered as she launched herself at him._

_Riley grinned. “Look at us! All together again just like it was always supposed to be. Except Lucas_

_isn’t here yet. Where is he anyways?”_

_Zay cleared his throat. “Well, somebody needs to tell her.”_

_“Tell me what?” Riley asked._

_“You do it Smackle,” Zay said. “You’re better at being blunt about this kind of stuff!”_

_She looked offended. “Hey! I’ve gotten better!”_

_“Well, somebody has to tell her!” Zay insisted._

_“Tell me what!?” Riley almost yelled._

_Josh and Maya exchanged looks, Farkle and Isadora exchanged looks and since Zay didn’t have Vanessa to exchange looks with, he decided he would be the one to tell her._

_“Well, boo, the thing is. . . Lucas is going to get married again!” He blurted out._

**.**

**Chapter 13, the Reunion pt. III**

“Married?” Riley repeated. “What do you mean Lucas is getting remarried?”

“Remarriage is a marriage that takes place after a previous marital union has ended, as through divorce or widowhood,” Isadora rattled off. “64 % of men get remarried after they’ve been divorced—”

“Babe, I don’t think that’s what Riley means!” Farkle interjected gently.

“You all knew about this!?” Riley asked, lookin at them all accusatorily. “You all knew about this and you let me come here, under false pretenses!”

“It wasn’t exactly false pretenses!” Maya protested.

“You’ve known about this for _ages_!” Riley stressed. “And we talk every single night, you could have told me! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because Riles, it isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world to tell somebody!” Maya defended. “I know you still love him. I-I didn’t want to break your heart all over again.”

“But I deserved to know!” Riley stressed. “You’re all terrible friends. Somebody should have told me! Somebody—”

“It _wasn’t_ easy!” Josh said.

“It was easy for me,” Zay said.

“And for your information, I didn’t know that he was getting married again until we were on our way here!” Josh continued, ignoring Zay. “I told Victoria to tell you as soon as I found out.”

“Victoria is just a child,” Riley told them. “Do you really think it was her place to tell me that her father was getting remarried?”

“Why don’t you just blame Lucas for not telling you while you’re at it?” Farkle suggested.

“He and I haven’t been in touch for years,” Riley replied. “He doesn’t have to call me out of the blue to tell me that he’s seeing somebody. But you, _you_ Maya. . . you could have told me! You _should_ have told me!”

“I didn’t know _how_!!!!” Maya answered. “Geez. Do you think I wanted to be the one to break my best friend’s heart all over again? I didn’t! But I’m a terrible person for not telling you, you deserved to know. Okay?”

Riley sighed in frustration.

“Guys, this wasn’t how this was supposed to go!” Josh said. “We’re all supposed to be happy to see each other after all these years of being apart. Not argue about what we should have done differently. Think about it Riles, would you have been able to tell Maya if I had started to see somebody else? Would you have been able to tell me if she’d gotten engaged?”

Riley hesitated. “I—”

“This is a difficult situation we’ve all been put in,” Josh said. “None of us really know how we’d react until we’re in it and usually we regret how we handled it afterwards. Just cut us all some slack and put yourself in our shoes.”

Riley sighed and sat down, rubbing her temples. “I have a headache,” she said.

“I’ll go get something for that,” Zay answered.

Riley closed her eyes. “I still have to face Lucas. How am I going to do that now?”

“You’re just going to do it,” Farkle said.

“Mom!” Amelia came running into the lobby.

Riley sat up and smiled at her, opening her arms as she fell into her embrace. “Hi baby!”

“Hi mommy!” Amelia answered. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too,” Riley replied.

“I like dad though,” Amelia told her. “And Vic. I don’t want to give them up.”

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” Riley answered, clearing her throat. “I can’t handle a conversation like that right now.”

Amelia nodded. “Okay.”

Riley grabbed her keycard and made her way to the elevator.

Zay turned to everybody. “Okay but we’ve got to do something to get Riley and Lucas back together. They are clearly miserable without each other.”

“I highly doubt Lucas is miserable,” Maya muttered.

“Oh, he is. He just doesn’t know it yet because Blake looks the way that she looks,” Zay said.

“Zay!” Maya said. _“Ugh!”_

Zay grinned. “Well. It’s true. She’s hot and all.”

“Dude, you better not let Vanessa hear you say that,” Victoria told him.

Zay held up his hand. “The point is we need to do something to get them back together. They’ll both be miserable without each other. They _are_ miserable without each other. Except Lucas doesn’t know about it yet,” he repeated.

“I’m in,” Maya said, looping her arm through Josh’s. “Anything to end this madness and bring us all back together again. What should we do?”

“I dunno. Farkle?”

“Don’t put me on the spot like that Zay!” Farkle protested.

“You were the evil genius in high school.”

“Genius is right,” Isadora said. “Evil might be a stretch. But genius takes time, Zay. He can’t just come up with a plan on the spot.”

“Okay! Okay!” Zay answered. “But you’re still in charge with coming up with something brilliant to get them back together. Something better than Thing 1 and Thing 2 came up with.”

“Hey!” Victoria said. “I think it was a pretty good idea! It always works out in the movies, anyways.”

“Babe, this is real life. It isn’t like the movies at all,” Maya replied.

“Hey everybody!” Lucas said as he and Blake came into the restaurant. “Wait a second. What is _everybody_ doing here!?”

Zay came over and led him to a table. “You better sit down for this. We got something to tell you. Bro.”

**.**

“ _What_ possessed you to switch places?” Lucas asked when everybody had finished telling the story. He looked at his daughters and tried to act stern.

Amelia sighed. “I wanted to get to know you and Victoria wanted to get to know mom. What’s so hard to understand about that?”

Lucas rubbed his temples. “If you’re all here, I’m assuming Riley’s here somewhere too.”

“Oh good! I’ve been dying to meet this ex of yours!” Blake said excitedly.

“Feeling threatened?” Victoria sniped.

“Maya?” Lucas said.

Maya stood up. “Come on girls, let’s go find out if there’s a good place for burgers and fries around here.”

“I think I should meet her,” Blake said. “Since your whole little arrangement is officially screwed up now.”

Josh cleared his throat. “I’m going to go and check on that burger thing with the girls.”

“Where _is_ Riley?” Lucas asked.

“She was a little. . . under the weather—” Farkle said.

“She was so drunk—”

“She’s getting some rest in her room,” Isadora finished. “But she’s so excited to see you. And you too Blake.”

Blake’s hand flew to her chest. _“Me?”_

Zay rolled his eyes. “Like you’re shocked. You want to meet her too. Everybody always wants to meet their competition.”

Blake’s eyes widened. “ _I’m_ competition?”

Zay smirked. “What do you think?”

“Okay, Zay. Blake and Riley are not in competition,” Lucas interjected. “Riley and I, we’re ancient history. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Blake.”

“Yeah you do,” Zay muttered.

“Did you say something Zay?” Lucas asked.

“Mmmh? Oh. No, I didn’t say anything!” Zay answered, smiling at him. “Not one single word.”

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! I hope you didn’t forget about this story over the holidays! I know we’ve had interactions since I was posting “Love at the Christmas Table”. Speaking of which, there is one more chapter left in that story. I hope you’ll tell me what you thought of this.
> 
> I know we’re a bit disappointed right now. Our show was canceled but be proactive. The guy I talked to at Netflix was very sweet and now it’s going around the office that we’re trying to get it picked up there. Don’t give up!  
> Until Next Time!


	14. the Mom, Dad and Future Stepmom

**.**

**Chapter 14 the Mom, Dad and Future Stepmom**

“Should we get Riley for dinner? Isadora asked.

“She’s probably still sleeping all the alcohol off,” Josh answered. “Let’s go and get something to eat. We’ll deal with this mess later.”

“What mess?” Riley asked as she came out of the elevator in floral shorts and a robin’s egg blue, off-the-shoulders blouse and white espadrilles. She hiked her straw tote up on her shoulder and blinked a few times before putting her sunglasses on. “Oh. _That_ mess! Uncle Josh, I’m fine! In fact, I can’t wait to meet my ex’s fiancèe! Where is she?”

Isadora and Farkle exchanged looks.

“Riley, are you sure. . .” Farkle started.

“We’re going to get burgers and fries,” Amelia said. “Why are you wearing _that_ dress, Blake?”

Blake ran a hand down her clingy black dress. “Oh. . . we’re not going to get dinner with you guys. Sorry sweetie.”

“Too late!” Isadora blurted.

“Lucas!” Riley said, plastering on the fakest smile that she could muster.

“Riley. . .”

“Here we go again,” Maya muttered.

“Lucas, are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Blake purred, slipping her arm through his.

“Um. . .”

Riley stuck her hand out. “Hi, I’m Riley Matthews,” she answered. “His ex-wife. You must be Blake!”

“Yes. . . yes, I am! It’s so nice to meet you, Riley!” Blake replied, smiling at her. “I wish I could say I knew a lot about you but Lucas has been so closed mouth about his past.”

“Well, that’s Lucas for you!” Riley said. “You know I didn’t know about his parents until we were seniors in high school? I’d known the boy since I was 12-years-old. He never invited us over to his apartment, never introduced us to his parents.”

“I know! I was beginning to think he’d been put here on earth by angels or something!”

“Dude, you _do not_ want this happening!” Zay hissed to Lucas. “They cannot become friends! There’s a delicate balance in the world and the ex-wife getting along with the newer model will disrupt it!”

“Says who?” Lucas whispered back. “I think it’ll be fine if Riley and Blake at least get along. There’s no way we can go back to our original agreement now. Not since the girls have met and like each other. And there is no way Maya is going to give up Josh again. Might as well make this easier on everyone. If they want to like each other, they’re free to.”

“You are a weird little man.”

“Don’t you have to take kids to get dinner?” Lucas asked. “I think I can hear your brood complaining right now!”

“I’ll get them out of here,” Zay said. “But this isn’t over yet. You know you’re going to have to face the music soon, untangle this whole mess. See if there’s still a spark between you and Riley. We all know there is.”

“Zay. . .”

“I’m going, I’m going! Have fun with Blake but not too much fun, if you know what I mean!” Zay joked as he gathered up all of his kids and the twins. “Come on guys, we’re going to get something to eat!”

“I’m looking forward to talking to you some more!” Blake said, squeezing Riley’s hand. “You can tell me more about Lucas’s mysterious time in New York.”

“And you can fill me in on all the years he’s spent in Texas with you!” RIley replied, smiling at her. “Have a nice evening! You too Lucas!”

“Thanks Riley. . . it was good seeing you again,” Lucas said absentmindedly.

**.**

“Girl, how could you be so nice to her?” Vanessa asked when they were all seated around a table at Red Robin. “I would have scratched her eyes out if she’d been with Zay!”

“She was nice,” Riley answered.

“She was totally faking, Riles!” Maya told her. “I know you have trouble realizing when people aren’t good, so I’m going to clue you in. She’s totally not good! She’s all wrong for Lucas. He should still be with _you_!”

“Well, even if that were true, he’s with Blake now. Nothing’s going to happen! So, you can _all_ get it out of your heads! Do it! Do it _right now_!”

“But mom. . .”

“I know you were hoping that this scheme you and Victoria cooked up would bring your father and I back together but it just isn’t going to happen,” Riley said firmly as the waiter came up to the table. “I’ll have an iced tea.”

“How can you sit there and calmly order a sweet tea when dad’s marrying the Wicked Bitch of Texas!?” Amelia asked.

Riley gasped. “Amelia! _Language!_ Which one of you taught my daughter a swear word?”

Josh looked at the waiter apologetically. “Could you give us a few more minutes? We’re sort of dealing with something here.”

The waiter, no stranger to family conflict nodded and left to go see to the next table.

“First of all,” Riley said addressing Victoria. “You’ll respect your new stepmother. You might not like her but you’ll have to give her the benefit of the doubt for your father’s sake. Second of all, to the rest of you, I am not going to get back together with Lucas. You’ll just have to put that idea out of your head. We got divorced for a reason, there’s no way all those old issues are going to go away. So, you can forget whatever hair-brained plans you’re cooking up in your heads right now. It isn’t going to work. I don’t want to hear any arguments about it.”

“But you’ve spent all these years loving him,” Isadora pointed out.

Riley sighed. “That doesn’t really matter though. He was my first love and you never forget your first. I mean, Josh spent years recreating her in his novels and Maya never ever really moved on. Zay finally married Vanessa and had a mini-sports team. But sometimes you can move on, Lucas did and I really hope that one day, I’ll be able to do it too. It won’t happen here though. Amelia and I will go home first thing in the morning, you’ll even be back in New York in time for your audition. Now we’re not going to talk about it anymore. Let’s eat.”

**.**

“We’ve got to do something,” Victoria said when they were in bed later that night.

“Yeah but what? You heard mom, they’re not going to get back together,” Amelia answered. “I’m going back to New York tomorrow, you’ll go back to Texas until they can figure things out. And then I guess we’ll live with daddy for six months and mom for the other six months.”

“And they’ll switch the holidays,” Victoria added. “Except, I have an idea.”

Amelia sighed. “What?”

“Okay, so. . .”

**.**

The next morning, the twins woke up and grabbed Zay to take them to the _L.L Bean_ across the street. They used Victoria’s _in case of an emergency_ credit card and bought matching khaki cargo shorts, harbor blue Henley’s and hibiscus plaid button downs.

“You’re mama’s going to kill you girl,” Zay told Victoria as she pulled her socks up and tied her brand-new hiking boots.

“You don’t want daddy to marry Blake, do you?” Amelia asked, tying off her braids.

“No. . .”

“Well, you’ve got to let us do this then,” Victoria said. “Pleaseeeee Uncle Zay.”

“Fine!” Zay agreed. “But if they ask, I had no idea what you were doing. Okay?”

“Okay!” Victoria and Amelia chorused together.

**.**

“Amelia, go and get changed now!” Riley ordered as she pulled on her suit coat.

“Are you sure I’m Amelia?” Victoria asked.

“Aren’t you?” Riley said, looking between them. “I think I would know my own daughter after 11 years of raising her!”

“Stop giving your mother problems and go get changed,” Lucas told them, wearily.

“Sorry, no can do!” Victoria said. “We want to go on the camping trip as a _family_. We’ll switch back after we get back.”

“Girls, I have a lot of work to do,” Riley answered. “You two can go on the camping trip together next summer. When we plan it out better.”

“That’s not going to work though!” Amelia said. “Either we go on the camping trip, all of us _together_ or you might be going home with the wrong kid. And you’d just have to switch us back again. This really saves you time and money.”

Riley and Lucas exchanged looks.

Riley sighed, knowing there was no way they were going to get out of it without agreeing to their daughters’ terms.

She was in for a long weekend.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we’re definitely in the final stretches of this story. Maybe two or three more chapters. I hope you’re in it with me for homerun. I hope I won’t disappoint you. A quick note, I know I didn’t write the date scene but a. I am basing it on both movies and b. I have no clue how the ship they got married on would be in Texas.
> 
> Anyways.
> 
> Until Next Time!


	15. the Camping Trip

**Chapter 15 the Camping Trip**

“I can’t believe you’re going to spend a weekend in the woods with your ex-wife!” Blake said, stomping around in her high heels. “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone? Sit at home and _knit_?”

“What do you want me to do, Blake?” Lucas asked as he loaded his truck with camping gear. “They won’t tell us who they are.”

“Give them a good spanking and make them tell!” Blake answered.

“You can’t spank two twelve-year-olds, Blake!”

“You should come with us!” Riley suggested, pulling her flannel shirt closer to her.

Blake faltered. “I don’t know if that’s a great idea, really.”

“Oh come on! It’ll be fun!” Riley insisted. “After all, the girls are going to belong to you too. You should probably get to know them better.”

“But I have nothing to wear!” Blake protested.

“Oh that’s fine! Lucas will probably have something you can wear in his closet!”

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Zay whispered to Lucas.

“No! But there’s nothing I can do about it. When two women set their mind to something, there’s no going back!”

“I heard that Lucas, don’t be such a sexist!” Riley called over her shoulder as she led Blake inside the house.

Lucas and Zay just exchanged looks.

30 minutes later, Riley and Blake came back outside. Blake was wearing one of Lucas’s old denim shirts and a ratty pair of his old Wranglers. She had rolled the top of the jeans down and cinched it with a belt.

“Well, we’re ready to go!” Riley said.

“What is _she_ doing?” Victoria asked.

“ _Blake_ is coming with us!” Riley answered.

“Be _nice_!” Lucas ordered, giving both Amelia and Victoria stern looks.

“You know, maybe I won’t go. . .” Riley said out of the blue.

Blake’s mouth dropped open. “Well, if you’re not going to go than I don’t think I’ll go either!” she replied.

“But you really should go!” Riley told her. “It’ll be fun! A good family bonding experience.”

“What are you going to do here?” Blake asked.

“Catch up with Maya, soak up some sun. Work on a game plan for the Knicks upcoming season. Boring, boring stuff!”

“We have to make a decision here,” Lucas said. “It’s a six hour drive to Big Bend and that doesn’t count in the time it’ll take to get to the campsite and set up shop.”

“Just go!” Riley told Blake. “It’ll be better than sitting around wondering what Lucas is doing all weekend!”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Now that we’ve gotten that settled!” Lucas said.

Riley opened the door for Blake and practically shoved her into the truck.

“What scheme do you have cooking in your pretty little head, Miss Riley?” Zay asked as the vehicle drove away.

“Me? I have nothing planned at all!” Riley replied, smiling at him. “What would even make you think something like that, Zay?”

Zay shrugged and smirked. “I’m not saying a word! Not one single word!”

**.**

“How much. . . uh. . . further?” Blake asked, clutching the stitch in her side.

“Just a couple more miles,” Lucas answered. “Do you need to take a break, honey?”

“That would be. . . ugh. . nice!” Blake replied stopping and blowing out her breath. “Whew. That is a steep climb.”

“What, you don’t do enough Pilates?” Victoria asked.

“Cut it out Vic!” Lucas said, turning to Blake. “Do you need some water, babe?”

Blake nodded, still gasping for breath. Lucas handed her one of the canteens and she downed half of it without stopping for a second.

“Better?” Amelia asked.

Blake looked at Lucas. “Hey babe, are we there yet?”

“We have a few more miles to go before we actually get there,” Lucas answered. “Just take a few more minutes. We’ll get there in time.”

Amelia and Victoria looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Blake sat down on a rock and pulled off the sneakers she had borrowed from Riley, rubbing her toes.

“My feet are killing me,” she complained.

Lucas patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you used to this eventually.”

Blake’s lips pressed into a thin line and then she plastered on a fake smile. “I’m looking forward to it,” she lied.

**.**

Victoria waited until her father was out of earshot and it was just her, Amelia and Blake before picking up two large sticks. She smirked at her twin. “Hey Ame, did I tell you about the trick I learned from an old Native American guide?”

“What?” Amelia asked, playing along even though she didn’t have any idea where Victoria was going with her story.

“If you bang two sticks or rocks together like this. . .” Victoria clapped them together as loudly as she could in demonstration. “. . . you’ll keep the mountain lions away.”

Amelia’s eyes widened, she was a city girl, so it was easy to take her sister seriously. “There are mountain lions around here!?”

“All sorts!” Victoria replied seriously. “But if you make a lot of racket. . .” she hit her sticks together again. “. . . they’ll steer clear. They really don’t like noise.”

Amelia knelt down and picked up to rocks, banging them together. “Like this?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at Blake.

“Exactly like that!” Victoria answered loudly.

The girls started to walk forward together. Blake searched around frantically for two well-sized rocks of her own and started to clap them together too.

**.**

“What are we having for breakfast tomorrow?” Blake asked as she tried to gag her trout down later that night.

“Fish,” Lucas replied.

 _“Fish?”_ Blake repeated.

“When we’re here, we try and eat off the land as much as we can,” Lucas explained. “It reduces waste and helps us pack lightly.”

Blake sighed.

“It’s only for the weekend,” Victoria said helpfully.

Blake made a face at her. “Thank you, _Vic_.”

Victoria smirked. “You’re welcome _mommy_.”

Blake narrowed her eyes and wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see y’all in the morning! Good night!”

She picked her rocks up and started to clang them together.

Lucas choked back laughter. “Babe, what are you doing?”

“Scaring off the mountain lions. . .” she trailed off when she saw the girls hiding their smiles behind their hands. “There aren’t any mountain lions around here, are there?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, honey. There haven’t been mountain lions around here since the Europeans settled here.”

Blake threw down the rocks angrily and then stalked over to Lucas. When she made sure that she had both girls’ attention, she kissed their father squarely and firmly on the mouth. In doing so, she was sending them a not so subtle message. She was in charge, she was the queen. She wasn’t going to let them intimidate her for another second!

She pulled away and rubbed his mouth to make sure she hadn’t gotten too much lipstick on it. She lifted her head and smirked.

“Goodnight girls!”

Lucas just smiled at his daughters, trying to look less than bemused.

**.**

“We’ve got to sabotage her,” Victoria said. “It’s the only way getting rid of her is going to work. So far she’s won every single round.”

“Sabotage her?” Amelia frowned. “You mean like you did with me at camp?”

“Well. . . yes but on a much smaller scale. We have to work with what we have which isn’t much. Just dad’s shaving cream, dental floss and some honey.”

“We didn’t pack honey.”

“Amelia, Amelia! You’re underestimating me! I packed some honey in my suitcase when nobody was looking!” Victoria answered. “You better hope she took one large sleeping pill because if she’s a light sleeper, we could get into some serious trouble. She’ll probably ship me off to boarding school in Timbuktu!”

“Dad won’t ever let that happen!” Amelia tried to assure her.

“Dad’s clearly not in control of his senses when it comes to Blake,” Victoria retorted as she rifled through her suitcase. She held up the large glass jar of honey and smiled mischievously. “Are you ready for our greatest caper yet?”

**.**

The girls were woken up by Blake screaming and wrecking the campsite while Lucas tried to calm her down. They hurriedly got out of their sleeping bags and put their flip-flops on, going to see what all the commotion was about even though they knew they were the ones responsible for it in the first place.

“Blake, calm down!” Lucas said. “It’ll be okay!”

Blake stopped when she saw the twins emerge from their tent. She looked at him, breadcrumbs held above her head. “You have to choose Lucas! It’s either me or them!”

Lucas looked between her and his daughters. He knew they had done everything in their power to wreck his relationship with Blake, including smothering her feet in honey and attracting baby bears. But he couldn’t fathom giving either of them up

It was an easy choice.

“Them,” he said.

Blake flattered. “Excuse me?”

“Them!” Lucas answered firmly. “ _T-H-E-M!_ I choose my daughters! They’re supposed to be my priority and they are. I’m sorry!”

Blake screamed almost like a maniac and then threw the breadcrumbs at his head. A second later, her engagement ring went sailing through the air. The next thing they knew, she was halfway down the mountain.

Lucas turned around and looked at his daughters. He sighed wearily. “Come on girls, help me pack up. We’re going home.”

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is it. The final two chapters are coming up. I appreciate all the support you’ve given this story over the last few months. You took a chance on something I was unsure of and that filled me with incredible thankfulness. Stay tuned, there’s a happy ending in sight! 
> 
> Until Next Time!
> 
> P.S
> 
> If you follow me on any of my social media sites (ie tumblr and Twitter, I apologize for the abundance of Sherlock posts. I’m just so excited. . . being canon is a wonderful thing!)


	16. the Goodbye

**.**

**Chapter 16 the Goodbye**

“Where is everybody?” Lucas asked as the girls dropped their bags on the floor and went to find something to eat.

“The Smarckles had to go back to New York, Josh and Maya went on a picnic yesterday and didn’t come back and Zay and Vanessa just took their kids to get pizza,” Riley answered, wiping her hands on her apron. “You should really let them find their own place, they’re a huge family.”

“I’ve tried, Zay isn’t having it.”

Riley peered over his shoulder. “And where’s Blake?”

“Probably halfway to Dallas by now.”

Riley arched an eyebrow. “Was it really that bad?”

Riley smiled. “Do you want dinner? I made lasagna, your favorite.”

“Um, sure. Let me go and get cleaned up first,” Lucas answered. “Maybe open a bottle of wine. If we put the girls to bed, we can talk about what we’re going to do next.”

“What we’re going to do next?” Riley repeated.

“About the situation with the girls,” Lucas said. “We need to figure it out. Now that they found each other, I don’t think we can tear them apart again. I don’t think either of us wants to live in a world where we can’t see our daughters now that we know them.”

“That’s a given,” Riley agreed. “Go and get cleaned up, the lasagna needs a little more time to cook before you can eat it.”

Lucas nodded and disappeared upstairs to his bedroom, Riley went to see her girls.

They were eating garlic bread and leftover ricotta cheese from the carton and giggling about something only sisters would find humorous.

“Hey Mom!” Amelia said.

“Where’s Daddy?” Victoria chimed in.

“He’s going to get cleaned up before dinner,” Riley answered. “It’s maybe something you should think about doing too.”

Victoria cleared her throat. “Actually, I texted Uncle Zay and he said he’d bring us home a pizza. Why don’t you and dad have dinner alone tonight?”

“Ah, that’s not going to work!” Riley replied. “Sweetie pie, there are just some things you have to leave in the past.”

“Uncle Josh and Aunt Maya aren’t just leaving it in the past,” Amelia protested. “They still love each other, why don’t you and dad?”

“We do still love each other!” Riley said quickly. “It just isn’t in the same way anymore. You’ll understand when you’re older. Now go and cleaned up, okay? You can watch TV or something for a little bit. But don’t stay up too late, Amelia and I have an early flight tomorrow.”

Victoria and Amelia both looked like they wanted to argue with her but thought better of it as they reluctantly left her by herself.

A while later, Lucas came downstairs. He looked almost like he was getting ready to take her out on a first date. Riley realized her palms were sweating. She wiped her hands on her white linen capris and blew out a deep breath.

“Want some wine?” Lucas called out.

“Sure!” Riley answered, tugging at her white-and-pink striped shirt.

“Music?” Lucas asked.

Riley followed him into the living room. “Lucas Friar, if I didn’t know any better than I would think you were trying to woo me.”

He looked at her, standing barefoot and dead center in his living room. “Well, maybe I am.”

“You just broke up with Blake, like what, an hour ago?” Riley said. “Don’t you think there needs to be some time before you can actually move on to somebody else? Don’t you think this is all a little ridiculous? You know we got divorced for a reason, Lucas.”

“Because you didn’t want to move to Texas with me!” Lucas answered, the music forgotten as he took a step towards her.

“D-don’t make me sound like the bad guy here! There were plenty of places you could practice medicine in New York, you had to come here though.”

“We were both so stupid,” Lucas said, framing her face with his hands. “Maybe I should have stayed with you and Amelia in New York but at that point, all I wanted was for you to be happy.”

A car pulled into the driveway and the engine stopped.

“It’s probably Josh and Maya,” Riley whispered.

“Maya has a key,” Lucas whispered back.

“We need to talk,” Riley said, putting some distance between them. “What are we going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Lucas asked. “What are we going to do? I can tell you what I want to do but it might not be what you want to hear. I could follow you to New York City and get a job at a clinic there. I could take the girls on the weekends and maybe one day, the two of us would go out on a date again. Maybe one day we’d even get married again. . . Riley, you have to know, there wasn’t a day that went by when I wasn’t loving you.”

“You’ve got a funny way of showing it. You were going to commit your whole life to loving someone else.”

“Because I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Lucas answered. “This by the way is not why Blake and I ended things. In the end, she wanted me to choose between her and the girls. She wasn’t happy with what I decided. I wish you would let me prove myself to you. Has it been too long for me to try and redeem myself?”

“Guess what!” Maya shouted as she and Josh came into the house. “Josh and I got married!”

Riley closed her eyes and cleared her throat, before turning to look at her uncle and best friend. “Really?”

Maya nodded excitedly and held up her left hand. “It was kind of a spur of the moment thing.”

“Th-that’s wonderful!” Riley managed.

Josh put his arm around Maya’s waist. “She’s moving back to New York City to be with me.”

“I’m sorry Lucas,” Maya said, not looking sorry at all. “You do understand, don’t you?”

Lucas nodded. “Of course.”

Maya noticed the tension in the room. “What’s going on with the two of you? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s just fine,” Riley answered. “There’s lasagna in the oven if you guys want to eat. If you’d excuse me, I have to finish packing. Amelia and I are leaving early in the morning.”

Maya looked at Josh and Lucas. “Should I go and talk to her?”

Josh shook his head. “I know you want to go and see how she’s doing but I’ve found these past few years, when she gets like this it’s just best to leave her alone. She won’t tell you what’s bothering her anyways.”

**.**

The next morning dawned gray and rainy, matching everybody’s moods as they prepared to say their goodbyes to each other.

Amelia and Victoria hugged each other for a really long time.

“I’ll send Amelia back for a couple of weeks before school starts,” Riley said, pulling her jacket around her tightly.

“And I’ll send Victoria out for Labor Day weekend,” Lucas answered. “We’ll figure out the rest afterwards.”

Riley nodded. “Take care of yourself, Lucas.”

“You too Riles.”

Riley gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then turned to hug both Vanessa and Zay, avoiding her ex-husband’s gaze as she did.

After a moment, she went over to her best friend and her uncle and grasped her hands. “I guess we’ll be seeing you in a week or so, _Aunt Maya!_ ”

Maya nodded. “I have a couple of things to wrap up here but I’m going to move back to the city to be with Josh,” she answered, leaning into her husband and grinning.

Riley hugged her. “I’m so sorry for everything we put you two through.”

“Don’t be,” Maya said. “We all found each other again, that’s all that matters.”

Riley gave her a watery smile and sniffed, on the verge of tears. “Yeah, yeah you’re right. Except I’m taking him away again.”

“We’ll survive,” Maya assured her. “It’s only seven days this time. Not eleven years.”

“Well, we do have to go now. We’ll never make our flight if we don’t get going,” Riley said.

Josh reluctantly let his wife go, giving her a long kiss on the mouth. “I’ll see you in a few days, Mrs. Matthews.”

Riley left them alone to say their goodbyes, she grabbed Victoria into a hug and then they were all in the cab, being jetted off to the airport.

She couldn’t bring herself to look back at the family she was leaving behind.

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we’re almost done. One more chapter and I can promise you that there will be a happy ending. Also, I can almost guarantee you a little one-shot where Josh and Maya decide to get married. Anyways, I know this was painful to read but I hope you’ll still tell me what you guys thought of this chapter. I love hearing from all of you.


	17. the Happily Ever After

**.**

**Chapter 17 the Happily Ever After**

It was raining in New York City too. Nobody talked to each other on the drive back to the apartment. Josh was busy texting back and forth with Maya. Riley and Amelia were both too tired and too sad to say anything to each other.

“Go and tell your grandparents we’re home,” Riley said when they had let themselves into their apartment.

“Okay mom,” Amelia answered, dropping her backpack on the floor.

“I’m going to head home now,” Josh said, kissing his niece on the cheek. “I’ll check in on you guys later.”

“Why are you headed home so soon?”

“Maya!? What are you doing here!?” Riley asked.

“It took us 15 seconds after you left to realize we didn’t want to lose you guys again,” Victoria answered, getting up from the couch and tossing aside the Sport’s Illustrated she had been paging through.

“Except for Zay and Vanessa,” Maya said, laughing. “Except they send their love and all that stuff.”

Riley shook her head. “This means Lucas is here somewhere, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe we should leave the two of them alone,” Josh suggested.

“No, no. . . I want everybody to hear this!” Lucas answered. “Riley, I told you the other day that I’ve never stopped loving you. I know you don’t believe me because of Blake and everything but it’s true. I would have never given Blake a second thought if you’d been around, you’re the one I wanted when I was 13 and you’re still the one I want.”

“What do you want me to do? Give up my life here? I can’t do that, it really is impossible and you can’t give up your life in Texas. Too many people depend on you. I know your patients would suffer if you left.”

“I have people I trust on staff there,” Lucas said. “And New York could always use a skilled veterinarian. I don’t want to waste any more time without you, Riley. Please say yes.”

Riley wiped away a stray tear and shook her head. “Lucas—”

“Stop fighting me because I am not going to take no for an answer,” Lucas whispered, pushing her hair away from her face. “I love you Riley. I really, really do and I’ll do whatever it takes to win you back.”

Riley closed her eyes and tears started to slide down her cheeks, she reached up and roughly wiped them away. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and then he kissed her.

Victoria laughed and hugged Amelia. “We did it!” she shouted, jumping up and down with her twin. “We actually did it!”

.

 

_One Year Later_

The doors opened and Riley waited while Zay’s daughters started down the aisle tossing flower petals as they strolled along arm-in-arm, then Amelia and Victoria, followed by Isadora and then Maya.

She couldn’t believe she was actually getting married to Lucas Friar again. He had spent months wooing her and courting her, sometimes it would be as simple as picking her up from work and walking her home. Other times the gesture would be as grand as dozens of flowers just because. He’d been her actual date to the huge reception Josh and Maya had thrown to celebrate their marriage.

He’d dutifully taken the girls on the weekends and hadn’t so much as kissed her when he took her out on dates. It was so romantic. It almost took her breath away. When he had proposed, he had promised that they’d do everything right.

It had all lead up to today, they’d booked a cruise on the same ship they’d gotten married on the first time and invited everyone to their wedding.

Including the Knicks, the whole team had showed up to support their favorite publicist.

The music changed and her breath caught in her throat. It was time. She looked at her father, who smiled at her and took her arm.

“Are you ready?” Cory whispered.

“I am,” Riley answered.

He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek then the two of them started to walk together towards Lucas.

The whole thing seemed to pass in a blur, the next thing she knew they were being pronounced man and wife and there was camera clicks as photographers took pictures of their second first _you may kiss the bride_ kiss.

Then they were all on the dance floor, swirling and twirling to a standard and it was better than the first time. It was better than anything Riley could have ever imagined and everything she hadn’t known she wanted the first time when they’d gotten married on a whim.

Of course she wouldn’t trade those early days for anything even they had led to some pretty painful times for their little family. But she wasn’t concentrating on that anymore. It was all in the past. They had to look forward to the future, everyone else was.

She looked up at Lucas and smiled at him. “I love you,” she said only loud enough for him to hear.

Lucas grinned at her. “I love you too,” he replied.

Somewhere, somebody was clanging their fork against a glass and since it was tradition, Lucas leaned down and kissed Riley soundly on the mouth.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied her daughters jumping up and down and hugging each other in excitement.

**The End**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usually I like to do chapters a little longer than this but I didn’t want to force anything and I thought this was a fitting ending. It’s been a long journey from this story being born in an Aloft Hotel in Virginia one night in August, to September 2nd all the way up until now. I want to thank you guys for coming along for the ride and allowing me to step out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed writing this. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review one last time?

**Author's Note:**

> I am very excited AND anxious about this story. I hope you all will like it and be on board for what I have in store. This is the first time I am writing a multi-chapter Rucas story. There will be Joshaya, of course. I cannot seem to write anything without them. I’ve tried. Also, this is the second story where I’ll be exploring Zay’s character just a bit more than usual.   
> Please tell me if you liked this in the comment section/review box. I’ll be back next week with another chapter. Even if there isn’t a huge reception for it.
> 
> Also, if you’re into Stranger Things, I’ve started to dip my toes in writing Mike & Eleven stories on demand of my cousin and little sister. They can’t wait for season 2. . . if you haven’t watched Stranger Things yet and you have Netflix/a long weekend do yourself a favor and binge watch the series. It’s excellent. 
> 
> Until Next Time!


End file.
